


When the Angels of Eden Fall to the Dark of You

by Eravanthia



Series: Angels Falling From Eden [1]
Category: BrickBBB Universe, Dissidia: Final Fantasy Opera Omnia, Final Fantasy XII
Genre: F/M, Gotta put my useless knowledge to use somehow right?, Rated Mature because I have a potty mouth and consequently so does Reader., Reader is a nerd for Greek Mythology, Reader knowledge is based on my knowledge, Reader swears A Lot(tm) when stressed, Snarky Reader, Stress swearing, mischievous reader
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-23
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:48:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 27
Words: 140,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21530086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eravanthia/pseuds/Eravanthia
Summary: Waking up in an unfamiliar place in the middle of the desert, Reader isn't sure how she got there.  When she figures out where she is exactly (thanks to one tiny inconsequential quote from her favorite fanfiction), she's in for a hell of a ride.***On Hiatus for personal family reasons***
Relationships: Balthier/Reader, Penelo & Reader, Vaan & Reader
Series: Angels Falling From Eden [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1624798
Comments: 87
Kudos: 46





	1. Where am I?

**Author's Note:**

> My thanks to greenblanketbythefire for helping me with all the coming Vayne dialogue in this story among other things, and for putting up with my shit. I'm not sure there would be anyone else who would put up with my random ass texts asking seemingly inconsequential questions, but I'm glad you do and I'm so thankful for your help.
> 
> This fic is 100% inspired by greenblanketbythefire's fic, Brick By Boring Brick and I /highly/ suggest you guys go read that ^-^
> 
> Now, Fair warning: There will be little to no upload schedule. When I finish a chapter I'll post it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: the only thing I own in this story is the reader character. Also: No real rats were harmed in the making of this chapter! <3

I groaned to myself as I raised a hand to shield my closed eyes from the harsh sunlight. Wait…sunlight? That wasn’t right… I couldn’t exactly remember _where_ I had been before waking up here, but I was certain sunlight would not have been a possibility. I sat up slowly, biting back another groan, and blinked my eyes slowly to clear the blur of sleep.

At first, I couldn’t comprehend what was in front of me. When I did?

Hoo boy.

“What. The. FUCK?” I growled out to absolutely no one. I was surrounded by sand and rocks. Two of the things I hated most. I shot to my feet and let a snarled curse slip through my clenched teeth as I realized that the sand had, indeed, done the exact thing I hated it for.

It had managed to get into my pants and shoes just from the motions of sitting and then standing up. I tried to shake it free as best I could, then I shifted my focus to taking in my surroundings. Ridding myself of the sand that was already starting to irritate my senses would have to wait until I wasn’t surrounded by the offensive substance.

There were a couple cacti and more than a few dried up bushes in the immediate vicinity. As I turned around, I saw a city skyline that I was absolutely unfamiliar with. In reality, I already knew something was off because the nearest desert or even desert-like environment was _at least_ 100 miles away from the area of the United States I called home. Seeing this foreign cityscape in the not-so-distant distance was just the icing on the cake.

_‘Commencing panic attack in 3…_

_2..._

_1...’_

I felt a lump start to form in my throat and the uncomfortable bubbling of hysteria in my chest as my breaths started to come faster. I tried to push it all back down, I really did. Before my impending meltdown could really kick into gear though, some… _thing_ came out from a nearby rock.

It looked like a tomato had sprouted a whole body, complete with arms and legs, and had decided to take a nice leisurely stroll through the desert.

“Oh my fucking—” I cut myself off as a strangled whine made it halfway out my throat. I watched in a mixture of shock and sheer terror as this little tomato thing trounced around in front of me without a care in the world.

“I’ve… I’ve gone mad. Absolutely fucking insane. That’s the only explanation.” I reached up and slid my hands over my face hoping to ease my sensory overload even a little bit.

“First, I wake up in the middle of a gods forsaken fucking _desert_ of all places—which should, in itself, be entirely fucking impossible. Now I’m hallucinating fruits that have whole-ass bodies taking relaxing jaunts through the _desert that I still should not be in.”_ I paused for a moment, then smirked to myself, “I’m lucky I tend to think out loud, otherwise I could add ‘talking to myself’ to the list of reasons I’ve obviously lost my mind.”

“Uh… you okay there?” I heard an unfamiliar voice ask me with a fair amount of trepidation. My hands retreated from my face and my head snapped to my left to see a sandy haired boy looking at me with equal parts curiosity, worry, and unease.

“No, no I’m definitely not okay,” I told the sandy haired boy with a scowl. “Where the actual fuck am I, Kid?” Okay, so he was like…seventeen probably, and I was only twenty-three. Until I learned his name, I was gonna call him Kid. He just…had That Look about him.

His chest puffed up as he glared at me, “I’m not a kid, my name’s Vaan.”

“Aaaaaaaaallrrrrriiiiiiiight,” I drawled out as slow as possible, “That still doesn’t answer my question, Kid.” If he was going to ignore literally the only important thing that had left my mouth in this short conversation, I was going to ignore his name.

“You’re just outside Rabanastre,” he looked like he was going to say more but I quickly cut him off.

“I’m sorry—where did you just say?”

“Rabanastre,” he repeated impatiently.

I could feel my jaw working, my mouth trying to come up with something to say. Finally I settled on something simple: “Where?”

Vaan groaned, “Are you deaf? I said you’re just outside Rabanastre!” He practically shouted at me and my eyes narrowed.

“I heard you just fine, Kid. I’ve never heard of…wherever-the-hell that is. What state is it in?” How I could have possibly gotten outside my home state—which I obviously had, considering the desert I was standing in—was a mystery to me at the moment, but it could be dealt with once I figured out where the hell this Rabanastre was.

“Dalmasca,” Vaan said shortly, apparently tired of dealing with me.

“Dalmasca?” My voice echoed his and sounded completely lost, all the heat from moments before was completely gone.

“Yes, the Kingdom of Dalmasca,” he snapped suddenly, “Just because the almighty Empire took control doesn’t mean Dalmasca doesn’t still exist!”

I blinked as my earlier panic attack started to come back in full force, hitting me like a freight train. Blood pounded in my ears drowning out the rest of Vaan’s tirade.

I had never heard of Dalmasca either. Certainly no “Kingdom” with that name. Not to mention that kingdoms and empires were noticeably absent in the United States of America.

The last thing I saw before the black spots at the edge of my vision took over completely was Vaan’s suddenly worried face as he bolted to catch me when my legs gave out.

-

The next time I woke up there was a distinct lack of sunlight and I felt both a bed underneath me and a blanket on top of me. I snuggled deeper into the blanket with a small smile.

“Thank god, it was just another one of my stupid dreams,” I muttered to myself, entirely intent on going back to sleep.

“Sorry Dalmasca doesn’t sit well with your ego,” I heard a voice that I definitely shouldn’t have been hearing and my eyes snapped open to take in an unfamiliar room. Shit.

“This has nothing to do with my ego, Kid,” I groaned as I sat up and looked at him.

“Oh really? Then what is it?” His voice was a sneer and my upper lip curled back in distaste before I snapped back at him.

“I’ve never fucking heard of Dalmasca or…Raba-whatever—” “Rabanastre.” “—Yeah, that. I don’t even know where I was before I woke up in that stupid fucking _desert_ where you happened to find me,” disgust dripped from my voice on the word desert.

“How could you not have heard of Dalmasca?” Vaan was truly confused it seemed and I shrugged.

“I dunno, there are a lot of countries in the world. I don’t know them all.” I paused and Vaan looked ready to say something before I cut him off.

“Though how the fuck I ended up in a country that has to be halfway across the world from where I live is an absolute mystery. That would be the only way I wouldn’t know it.” I was more just talking to myself at that point so Vaan spoke up.

“There are only three countries.” I looked at him like he’d grown a second head.

“Excuse me?”

“I said, there are only three countries. Dalmasca, Rozarria, and _Archadia.”_ He said the last name with a measure of the same disgust I had used earlier. It had sounded…vaguely familiar in a way I couldn’t quite describe, but with the way he had said it I wasn’t about to bring that up.

I couldn’t do anything but blink at him. He took it as a sign to continue.

“There were five, but Nabradia was taken into the empire and Landis was destroyed.”

“Empire?” My voice cracked and I could tell my eyes were huge.

“The Archadian Empire. They’ve also just acquired Dalmasca, so I guess soon there will be only two countries.” His voice dropped to a dejected grumble and I blinked again.

“Um… I know you’ve probably got other things to worry about, but uh… I’ve never heard of any of this. Where I’m from there are like… at least one-hundred-ninety countries.” It was Vaan’s turn for confused silence it seemed, as he only blinked at me like I had done before.

“There are no ‘Empires’ anymore, the only notable kingdom I’m aware of is the United Kingdom even though the monarchy is literally just a title and all the real power is in the parliament. At least, that’s what I’ve been told since I don’t actually live there.”

“One-hundred-ninety countries?” Vaan’s voice was thick with disbelief. I nodded.

“At least. A lot of them are democracies, though there are a few dictatorships like North Korea, and quite a few are still monarchies even though they don’t technically go by the title of ‘Kingdom’.”

“North Korea?” Vaan’s tone gave me a flashback to me echoing Dalmasca when he’d first told me where I was. I grimaced.

“Mm. And while Russia is _technically_ classified as a constitutional republic, which is fundamentally similar to a democracy, they’re under an authoritarian system and they’ve had the same ‘President’ for at least twenty years. Nobody has the guts to run against him because anyone who does disappears. They’re basically a dictatorship as well, but one that’s wrapped up in nice pretty packaging.”

“Russia? Democracy? President? What the hell are you talking about?” It seemed Vaan had finally shaken off his shock. “None of those places are real, and I’ve never heard of something called democracy.”

I sighed.

“How can you not have heard of democracy, Kid? Literally everyone on Earth has heard of the United States of America. Especially over around Iran and Turkey and Pakistan and the rest of the _‘-istan’s_ since we’ve invaded half of them to tear down dictatorships and install democracies.”

“Stop making stuff up. Are you a spy or something from Archadia?” He looked very suspicious now and I bit back a sigh.

“Vaan, I’m not making anything up. What continent is this? I’m assuming Asia? Although it could be somewhere in Africa too I suppose, considering your English is— Wait, how can you speak English and not know what America or the United Kingdom is?”

“English? I’m speaking Ivalician, and we’re on the continent of Ivalice.”

Hearing the name Ivalice sparked a recognition. A line from my favorite fanfiction floated through my head.

_“Everything I do, I do for Archadia. For all of Ivalice.”_

Vaan looked concerned again right about the time I felt all of the blood drain from my face and my stomach turned.

“Hey, you alright? You’re looking kind of pale…”

“That Empire you mentioned, the one that just took over Dalmasca,” my voice was shaky and I desperately hoped I was wrong. “Did they send someone to oversee the transition? An ambassador or a consul or something similar?”

Vaan’s face screwed up in disgust, “Yeah. Consul Vayne Solidor.”

“Gimme a bucket. I’m going to be sick.” He handed me a wooden bucket just in time and I proceeded to empty my stomach. Though since it was already pretty empty, after I brought up some stomach acid I mainly just dry heaved until my body decided it was done.

“What was that about?” Vaan scowled as I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.

“So I’ve figured out what happened, and why we don’t know any of the same places,” I said like I hadn’t just dry heaved for two straight minutes.

“Oh?”

“Yep.”

Vaan looked expectant and I sighed.

“I’m trying to decide if it’s worth telling you since I doubt you’ll believe me anyway.” I spoke with a small frown, an expression Vaan hadn’t seen me wear yet. He leaned forward.

“Might as well give it a shot, what do you have to lose?”

I made a small noise of agreement, still slightly frowning, before I shrugged my shoulders.

_‘Fuck it. Might as well jump off this cliff head first.’_

“We’re from different universes.”

“You’re right. I don’t believe you.”

I rolled my eyes. Then my shoulders sagged and I stared at the floor with an empty feeling in my chest.

“Look, Vaan,” I started, speaking softly for no other reason than I couldn’t bring myself to talk louder. “Even if my explanation is wrong I have nothing, no one, in this world you call home. I don’t know anything about how things work here or who I should or shouldn’t trust. I have no skills to make a living in a world I’m unfamiliar with.” I dragged my eyes up to meet his, letting my true emotions show on my face; my fear and hopelessness on display for this stranger to see.

“So I don’t care if you believe me, it’s the truth but that doesn’t really matter. All I care about is that I don’t want to be alone here. I won’t survive in a world I don’t understand.”

Vaan looked taken aback by my sudden lack of sarcasm.

“Well…I guess it wouldn’t hurt anything to at least teach you how to fend for yourself,” he finally agreed, “I’ll take you to the sewers once we get you a weapon. What kind do you think you would be comfortable with?”

I hummed, thinking carefully about all the weapons I had wanted to learn at one point or another but had never been able to.

“Well, that really depends on what kind of weapons you have in this world.”

Vaan sighed, “There’s daggers, spears, staves, katana, guns, swords, greatswords, bows, crossbows, hammers, axes, maces, and wands. And of course there’s unarmed.” I could feel my eyes getting wider with every weapon and I started to smile. I’d had a little bit of archery training when I was younger, not that I was about to let him know that.

“Wait, wands? You mean like…magic wands?” Of course, thanks to the fanfiction that had given me enough information to figure out that I was in a different universe, I was entirely aware that magic was a thing in this new world. However, I felt that if he thought I didn’t know about magic he might be a little more inclined to believe me about the “different universes” thing.

To quote _My Hero Academia,_ an anime I had watched quite a bit of in my world; it was a rational deception.

“Uh, yeah. Why?”

“Can you use magic? I’ve never seen magic; it doesn’t exist where I’m from. I don’t even know if I would be able to use it.”

“No, I can’t. I don’t have the right licenses. I could, but I’m not all that interested in casting. I prefer to use a dagger.” Vaan puffed up with a bit of pride.

“A dagger? Like, as in only one dagger?”

“What else would I mean? You use a dagger in one hand and a shield in the other.” He looked suspicious.

I shot him a sly grin, “Oh my dear sweet boy, let’s go get me a couple daggers. There’s something that warriors in my world call ‘dual-wielding’ and I think I’m going to make your day. If not, well then at least I’ll have a chance to learn something I’ve always wanted to.”

-

Fast forward a few hours and we were down in the waterways under Rabanastre and I was inspecting my new dagger. Singular dagger. As it turned out, weaponry in this world was a tad pricey; so if I wanted that second dagger, I would have to get used to one and then work for my second one.

“Hey, Vaan.”

He raised his head to look at me, “What.”

“Lemme see your dagger,” I shot him a grin and he scowled.

“Why? You have yours.”

“I just want to show you the concept of dual-wielding, then you can have it back,” I pouted at him and he sighed.

“Fine, here.” He walked over and handed me his dagger. I took it in my off-hand and gave it a couple experimental swings before pulling mine from the sheathe at my waist.

“Alright, so basically,” I slid into a nice starting stance that I had seen from the mock sword fights on Earth, and I held the weapons in a reverse grip. It probably wasn’t proper, but it was comfortable and I knew I could make it effective if I had the time. “You can hold the daggers in a standard grip or a reverse grip like this. I prefer the reverse grip, it just feels more comfortable to me.”

“But how do you block? You don’t have a shield so there’s no protection.” He seemed sceptical and I grinned.

“You’re right, but you’re also wrong.” His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, so I continued. “Grab a wooden pole from one of the corners in here and try an overhead swing. It’ll be easier to show you.”

He did as I had instructed but instead of hitting me, like he’d expected, his pole had met the crossed blades of the daggers and I smirked.

“Just because I have no shield doesn’t mean I have no way to block. Granted against a gun or a spear or magic, I’ll be at a disadvantage, but I’ve always been more drawn to glass cannons like rogues.” I shrugged. “It’s a weakness.” I pushed up against his strike and as he stepped back I stood and handed him his dagger back.

“I’m by no means an expert. In fact, most of my combat and weapon knowledge comes from video games. Which is less than useful. I like to think I’m a quick learner though, so I’ll be useful for as long as you let me stick around.” Vaan’s eyes narrowed at me at the last line as he took his dagger from my outstretched hand.

“I’m only teaching you how to fend for yourself, after that I don’t care what you do.”

I faltered for a moment, unsure what to do. Sure, I knew that this boy hated someone that my favorite fanfiction had given a different angle of. That fanfiction was just that, though; fiction. I had somehow made it into this world, but I couldn’t just assume that everything would be the same as that story. I had to assume I had ended up in the canon world, not the Alternate Universe that was Brick By Boring Brick. I had to assume that the character I had grown attached to wouldn’t be influenced by the ideals of a walking meme Aspie in a hoodie and glasses.

_‘Besides, if you were in that AU wouldn’t you be somewhere on Eos instead of Ivalice?’_

_‘I don’t need your input here, thank you very much.’_

I cleared my throat and dropped my hand.

“You’re right. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have assumed you’d just let me hang around.” My voice was soft and I turned around to start practicing with my dagger again, missing the look that flashed across Vaan’s face for a moment.

-

A couple weeks later I had gotten about as good with my dagger as I was going to get facing only large rats in the Gamsythe Waterway. A kid named Kytes that Vaan had introduced me to popped up over the railing of the upper ledge of the cistern we were in.

“Hey Vaan, Weird Girl! Hurry it up before we get caught down here!”

“I have a name, Kytes,” I called up to him with a small smile. Vaan rolled his eyes.

“Alright, Kytes, we’ll be done in a minute.” He looked over to me and I nodded once before we turned to face the open room. Vaan zeroed in on three rats and I spotted another one off in a corner.

“Hey, Vaan,” I called with a smirk.

“Yeah?”

“There’s another rat over there, which would make four. What do you say I take two and you take two and whoever finishes last…has to swipe food money from one of the Imperial patrols in the Bazaar?”

“Are you actually suicidal?” He asked me with a laugh. I grinned.

“No, just hungry as hell and the Imperial soldiers around here are grade A douchebags. Besides, I have a plan and the loser won’t be doing the job alone, only the initial score.” He had his eyes narrowed like he still didn’t trust me. “C’mon,” I teased lightly, “You’re not scared, are you?”

The taunt worked perfectly, and I knew in an instant that he’d taken the bait because I saw his chest puff up a bit.

“You’re going to regret this when you have to run from the patrols because you got caught with your hand in their pocket.”

I stuck my tongue out before turning to eye the rats.

“One…” I began.

“Two…” Vaan replied.

“Three!” We called at the same time before shooting forward. My dagger came free in a standard grip in my dominant hand. Over the time I had been here, I had come to realize that when wielding only a single dagger it was much more comfortable and effective to use a standard grip as opposed to a reverse grip.

I dropped to a knee with my other leg stretched out in front of me and slid through the four inches of water on the floor toward one of the rats, which miraculously—surprisingly—didn’t dash away too fast to catch.

_‘Fucking video game hacks.’_

I slashed forward, landing a long gash on the side of the rat, then as I passed it I turned and slashed again. This slash landed on its neck and it stopped moving almost instantly. I turned my attention to the other rats. Vaan landed the killing blow on his first rat just as I darted towards a second one.

“How are you so fast?!” Even after watching me and helping me learn, my speed still surprised him and I let out a carefree laugh.

“Maybe you’re just that slow!” I called over to him as I chased one of the rats toward the other side of the room. I heard him groan as he slashed at his second rat. I dropped to my knees again to slide through the water toward my second rat. This one was a little more skittish than the last one I had targeted and managed to scamper out of the range of my slash just as I took it. I growled in frustration and lunged again, this time striking it dead on.

I turned to look at Vaan triumphantly, but to my surprise he was already watching me. His arms were crossed and he was smirking.

“Looks like I win,” he told me. I hissed a breath quickly and looked around, sure enough there were no more rats. I groaned softly.

“Fine, a bet is a bet. I’m going to put your training to good use, but remember I said I had a plan.” He nodded and we sheathed our daggers as I started to explain.

By the time I was done he was looking at me with a measure of surprise.

“Alright, I’m impressed. That could actually work.”

I grinned at him, “Of course it could. It’s not entirely bulletproof, but still; if you have a partner you trust and you have the skills to pull it off, it’s about as close to bulletproof as thieving gets.”

We bounded up the stairs and toward the door to Lowtown, intent on getting to the Bazaar to put my plan into action.


	2. For All People (Deserve Respect)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pick-pocketing, adventures in the desert, parades, and speeches to enthrall the masses.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: No real Rogue Tomatoes were harmed in the making of this chapter...even if I wish they were. Unnatural little -unintelligible muttering-.
> 
> ANYWAY! Have a chapter!

When Vaan and I exited the door to the surface level of Rabanastre we parted ways. I walked across the bridge toward the south end of the Bazaar, and he looped around to the north so we closed in on the area from opposite sides. I couldn’t see Vaan yet, but as long as he was sticking to the plan he would be doing basically what I was: leisurely strolling down the market street, appearing to window shop. The only difference would be that I was watching for Imperials and he was watching for me.

I was fairly easy to spot in a crowd in this world, considering whoever or whatever had brought me here had deigned to let me keep my black leather jacket. It even had a cloth hood attached to the lining, not that I pulled it up. The jacket itself was nearly too conspicuous for picking pockets, the hood would have been too much.

Just before the halfway point I spotted two Imperials giving a merchant a hard time. I smirked to myself. Not only would they be perfect targets, but I could see Vaan eyeing them too from just beyond. He locked eyes with me before turning to chat with the merchant of the stall he was in front of. I walked forward, pretending to be in my own little world.

I bumped into one of the Imperials, gasping as I reached out a hand to steady myself. When my hand touched his arm I looked toward his helmet with wide eyes even as I slipped my fingers into his pocket.

“I’m so sorry, sir!” I plucked his coin pouch free before dropping into a bow. “Please, forgive my clumsiness I beg you!”

“Whatever, just get out of here,” the soldier’s gruff voice sounded from above me.

“Yes, sir. I hope you have a pleasant rest of your day. I’m sorry to have bothered you.” I straightened back up and continued on my way.

Vaan was still talking with the merchant and his eyes cut to the side to catch mine before going back to his conversation. He was angled so that I would walk right past his back and I did just that, not even stopping. His conversation with the merchant didn’t falter and I heard him bid the merchant goodbye as the crowd closed between us. I didn’t look back, knowing he would stick to the plan and keep heading south.

Then I heard it.

“Hey you! Stop!” One of the Imperials bellowed. The crowd around me froze, so I did the same; turning and looking for who they might be after like I didn’t already know. I was completely unsurprised when he came to a stop in front of me and grabbed me roughly.

“I know you took it, with your sticky little fingers!”

I looked as innocent as possible.

“You think I took something? Are you missing something? I can help you look if you'd like.”

He growled, squeezing my arm tighter and I whimpered in pain.

“My coin pouch. I know you took it.”

“Sir, you’re welcome to search my person. I promise you, you won’t find a single gil on me; my own or otherwise,” I stated calmly. He shared a look with his friend behind him before releasing my arm and beginning to frisk me.

“If you have no gil on you, what are you doing in the market in the first place?” His friend asked while I was being searched. Suspicion dripped from his voice like acid and I smiled warmly back at him.

“I get lonely and restless if I stay at home for too long, so sometimes I come here. The crowds ease the loneliness even though none of them are actually with me, and it gives me something to do when I have no work. Plus I can talk with the merchants to see if any of them have any odd jobs for me to do if I need a bit of extra coin.”

The soldier searching me straightened back up.

“She’s telling the truth. Not a single gil.” He sounded almost confused and I smiled at him softly.

“Would you like me to help you look? You may have dropped it without realizing.” They seemed to eye me warily for a moment.

“Why would you offer to help us? We’re Imperials and you’re Dalmascan, anyone else in your position would be hurling profanities and spitting at our feet.” The first soldier sounded as wary as his body language suggested. The second crossed his arms and said in what I assumed was supposed to be an intimidating tone, “Yet here you are, smiling and making nice. I don’t trust you. No one here ever smiles at Imperials, let alone offers help.”

I let out a soft sigh. “Then that’s their problem. I’m different. I believe that every man should be treated with kindness, regardless of nationality, station, or social standing.” My smile got a little warmer as they shared a look and I could almost taste their shock at someone claiming something so bold in a society like this. “I treat poor men with the same kindness that I would treat a king, and I would treat strangers as I treat neighbors. That you’re Archadian doesn’t matter to me. You’re still a person and, at the end of the day, even Archadians have feelings.”

The tension in their bodies eased slightly and the second soldier raised a hand to the back of his helmet like he was trying to scratch his head.

“I see. Well…” he trailed off, the one whose coin pouch I had taken spoke up. “Be on your way. I must have left it in the barracks, we don’t require your help.” My smile dropped to a polite tilt of my lips and I dipped my head.

“Yes, sir. I hope you’re able to find your pouch.” Guilt twisted my stomach knowing that he wouldn’t be able to, but my smile didn’t waver. I flipped my hood up and slipped my hands into my pockets, then turned around and headed north, continuing to window shop until I came to the end of the market.

I followed the loop of the road, ending up back where Vaan I had split off from each other. Vaan was chatting with Penelo, who saw me first. Her eyes got big and my smile grew. I didn’t stop as I got to them and they fell into step beside me.

“How on earth are you not in the stockade right now?” Penelo hissed at me, worry etching itself onto her face.

Vaan grinned over at her, “I told you: her plan was genius!”

-

**Flashback: Vaan PoV**

_ Vaan watched two Imperial dirtbags harass a merchant, rage seething in his stomach. Just as he thought about abandoning the plan, he spotted ____’s strangely designed jacket. He’d never seen anything designed like it on his world, so it made her easy to spot. She was watching the same two Imperials, the ghost of a smirk on her face. She'd found her targets. They locked eyes for a split second before Vaan turned to strike up a conversation with the merchant he was next to. The conversation was fairly dry; but it made him look busy, which was the point. _

_ His eyes cut to the side to see his friend—yes, he’d come to realize that he had begun to think of the strange girl as a friend, perhaps even a sister of sorts—put her hand on the arm of one of the soldiers. Worry and anger in equal measure coiled in him as he looked back to the merchant, a strained smile taking its place on his lips when the merchant made a joke. How could she act so friendly with an Imperial? What if she got caught? _

_ When his eyes cut back again she was already walking away with a calm smile on her face. He looked back to the merchant. Just like she had told him to when she explained the plan, his hand that was hidden from the Imperials by his body subtly twisted so his palm was facing behind him with his fingers slightly curled. He kept his conversation going with the man in front of him and ignored her existence entirely, even as she passed behind him like he was just another stranger in the crowd. He didn’t falter when he felt the weight of a coin pouch in his open palm, just closed his fingers around it and put his hand in his pocket. _

_ He bid the merchant goodbye and turned to walk down the street, not glancing over his shoulder. He was barely past the Imperial ____ had bumped into when he heard the man growl to his friend. _

_ “It was that girl! The one who bumped into me! There’s no one else it could have been!” _

_ The two Imperials turned and chased after ____ and Vaan felt his anxiety skyrocket when he heard them shout “Hey you! Stop!” _

_ He kept walking, weaving through the crowd with practiced efficiency until he was out of the Bazaar and turning onto the bridge they’d agreed to meet at. _

_ - _

“Both of you, be quiet. Talk about the weather or something. I’m not about to get taken down because Vaan wants to brag about me,” I grumbled softly. “Let’s get to Migelo’s.”

The sun was blotted out then and I looked up to see a huge airship. In the time I’d been here I’d learned the differences between airships. The one in the sky above us now more than likely belonged to a sky pirate, as it looked like an actual ship instead of some mechanical monstrosity. The mechanical monstrosities were Imperial.

“One day, I’ll have my own airship,” I heard Vaan whisper beside me. I sighed and looked back to the street.

“For now, how about we focus on the present,” I replied. Penelo walked ahead of us.

“Neither of you will be doing anything if you’re stuck in a dungeon, you know. You have to be more careful.”

“I’ll keep that in mind while we eat dinner tonight,” I quipped lightly.

Penelo turned off to go somewhere else and Vaan and I made our way to Migelo’s. When we got there the lizard-man greeted us with what I assumed was as much warmth as a reptile could muster, but I knew from Vaan and Penelo that he was one of the only merchants in the city with a soft spot for orphans.

Still, in the weeks that I had been here I hadn’t grown entirely accustomed to the sight of Bangaa—the reptilian race on Ivalice—so I had to force myself not to stare.

Migelo sent us off to track down Kytes who was supposed to be picking up food to replace his late shipment. We offered to track down the courier and the shipment, but apparently he thought that would be too dangerous for us. So we were sent on our way to the tavern.

When we got there we found Kytes standing at a notice board.

“There you are, Kytes! Quit loafing around,” Vaan grumbled as he walked up to the boy.

“Look, Vaan! This is why Migelo’s courier didn’t get here on time!” Kytes was excited and not paying any attention to what Vaan was saying. Vaan decided to humor him and turned to the board to read the notice.

_ “‘Creature spotted in the Estersand.’ _ What is it?” Vaan seemed confused and as I glanced at the picture my eyes went wide. Who I assumed to be the tavern owner came up and started talking to Vaan about the banquet Migelo was put in charge of to welcome the Imperials. Vaan bristled, but apparently decided against speaking out about the Imperials.

“Welcoming? We should be—never mind. Tomaj, what’s this?” He gestured to the board I was still staring at. 

“Oh, there’s some nastiness out in the Estersand stopping our couriers. Figured I’d put up a bill, offer a reward to anyone who can—”

My growl cut through the conversation and I stomped up to the board and ripped down the poster with a picture of what looked like a tomato that had sprouted a body, complete with arms and legs. “Vaan, we’re taking this. I’m going to make this little bastard pay for making me think I was hallucinating.”

“Uh, alright I guess. I’m pretty sure I don’t have a choice when you get like this.” He turned to Kytes. “You should be getting back to Migelo. Now, Kytes. He was waiting for you.”

Kytes ran off back to Migelo’s as I turned and crumpled the poster, looking at Tomaj. “We’ll take the hunt. Your couriers will be able to get through soon.” I stalked out of the tavern, Vaan on my heels, and we headed for the gate to the Estersand.

While we wound through the crowds Vaan cleared his throat. “You, uh, really hold a grudge, don’t you?”

“You bet your ass I do, Vaan. This little tomato bitch made me think I was going crazy. I’mma kill it.”

“You know it’s probably not the same one, right? And it probably had no idea you were even there, let alone that you would think you were crazy?” He tried to reason with me.

“Don’t care. Gonna kill it.” I had never claimed my temper was the most rational thing about me.

We made it to the gate leading to the Estersand, only to be stopped by an Imperial guard. I grit my teeth in annoyance and Vaan, seeing that I wasn’t in a frame of mind to deal with getting past a guard, put his hand on my shoulder to pull me behind him slightly.

“No one gets through on account of the Lord Consul’s parade!” The guard barked at us. A single sharp intake of breath hissed through my teeth, smoothly covered by Vaan’s confident lie.

“That’s too bad. You see, your provisioner for the Fete tonight sent us to pick up a few choice morsels for the, uh, Consul’s dining pleasure. I’ve got the writ of transit right here. See? Signed: Migelo.”

I stifled the urge to laugh, letting loose a long, slow exhale instead. Vaan topped the lie with a cherry when he told the guard, “I’d just hate to see the Consul upset because his food wasn’t ready on time. And I’d  _ sure _ hate to see him take it out on you.”

I almost snorted. Especially when the Imperial guard started scrambling to backtrack over his words. He let us through.

Once we were on the other side of the gate and stepping onto the sands outside Rabanastre I finally let go and started laughing.

“Oh my god. Vaan.  _ ‘I’d hate to see him take it out on you,’ _ that was brilliant!” I gasped as I doubled over. “You’re a genius.”

Vaan smirked. “So are you feeling a little less…”

“Stabby? No. I’m still gonna kill it,” I straightened up with a grin. “But you did manage to stifle my temper, so I won’t be in as much danger of smarting off to the wrong person.”

“Little victories, I suppose,” he said lightly as we started walking again.

I finally spotted the Rogue Tomato about the same time it spotted us. It started running away and Vaan and I chased after it. Just as it got to a cliff it turned around and chirped at us before jumping backwards off the edge. I growled and slid my dagger back in it’s sheath.

“What are you doing?!” Vaan yelled frantically.

“If that little shit jumped then obviously it’s safe! It wouldn’t commit suicide to avoid being killed, so it’s safe for me to follow it!” I said back. As I jumped from the cliff I called back, “Go around and cut it off!”

I saw the tomato staring up at me and I had a split second to regret deciding to jump. That sand was going to get everywhere. As I landed I let my knees buckle and I rolled to keep my momentum up, breaking back into a run the moment my feet were under me again.

“I swear to every god in this universe, if I never see another speck of sand after this it will be too soon,” I hissed as I unsheathed my dagger and lunged forward. Vaan appeared in front of us, blocking the tomato’s path and it veered left to try to get away from both of us.

An unfortunate decision for the tomato. If it had turned right I wouldn’t have been able to reach it. As it was, turning left brought it just close enough that I sliced my dagger to the right and the tomato ran right into the blade. A vicious grin split my lips and I made one final slash to make sure the Rogue Tomato was truly dead before sheathing my dagger.

“Good riddance,” I whispered as I stood back up and shook sand off my clothes and hair. I slipped out of my jacket and shook it to make sure no sand had gotten caught in the folds before sliding it back on.

“Feel any better?” Vaan asked carefully.

“Much.” I was going to say more, but Vaan’s attention was caught somewhere else and I turned to see what he was looking at.

“Galbana Lilies?” He whispered, I watched as he walked up to a pretty orangey-red flower and knelt down. “Never thought I’d see them growing out here.” He picked them, then stood and turned to me.

“Let’s get back to the city. Before this  _ sand _ has any more chance to invade my personal space,” I said, my lips curled in distaste and Vaan laughed.

“Why do you hate sand so much?”

I channeled my best Anakin Skywalker and turned to him with a small pout, “Because it’s all coarse, and rough, and irritating. And it gets everywhere.”

“You should have remembered that before you decided to jump off a cliff into the stuff,” he teased.

“Don’t,” I warned, pointing a finger at him. He held his hands up in surrender as we made it back to the gate.

There was a small crowd amassed around the gate with Imperial guards pushing everyone back.

“What now?” Vaan asked. I shrugged and pulled my leather jacket tighter around me before slipping carefully through the crowd to see what was happening.

What was happening was that the guards were denying anyone entrance to the city because of the parade.

If I didn’t already know Vayne’s characterization, I had the feeling that I would share the opinions of the Dalmascans about him. I did, however, so instead of being angry about the way the Imperials were acting I only felt sad. I turned and made my way back.

“Entry to the city is restricted for the moment because of the parade.”

“—The parade,” he finished with me. I nodded, then my attention was caught by a huge white bird. I hadn’t ever played the Final Fantasy that featured Vaan and Vayne, but from the Final Fantasy games I  _ had _ played, I knew exactly what it was.

“A chocobo,” I breathed, excitement racing through my veins. Vaan looked at me and raised an eyebrow.

“You mean your world had chocobos but no magic?”

I coughed as I realized he had heard me. “Uh, I overheard someone talking about chocobos in the market a while ago. I hadn’t ever seen one so I was curious. I might have listened in on their conversation.”

The Imperials called for the gate to be open and Vaan pushed through the crowd. I trailed behind him.

“How come you’ll let these chocobos through the gate but not us?”

The Imperial sneered at him. “What of it? This is a champion parader! Cost tens of thousands of gil, it did! A prettier price than a hundred of you provincials would fetch.” Vaan bristled and I laid a hand on his shoulder.

“Any man who would buy or sell his fellow man should be ashamed of himself,” I told the guard calmly, pushing Vaan back into the crowd behind me.

“What did you just say to me?” The guard took a threatening step forward and I smiled, just as calmly as I was speaking.

“I said that if you would put a price on your fellow man you should be ashamed. All people should be treated with respect, regardless of nationality. That includes Archadians.” I heard gasps from the crowd around me and I stepped to the side to let the chocobo pass.

“People are still people regardless of birthplace, my dear Imperial. You would do well to remember that, or else you might insult the wrong person someday.”

“Was that a threat?” I saw him grip his spear tighter as the last chocobo passed through the gates and I smirked.

“Not at all. Merely an observation. My companion and I have a delivery for Migelo, the provisioner for the banquet. You wouldn’t wish to delay food that is to be prepared for the Consul, would you?”

“Ah! My dear girl! And Vaan! There you two are! I was wondering where that last shipment had gotten to!” Migelo appeared out of nowhere with Penelo right behind him and they took our arms to drag us through the gates. “My apologies, but we really must be going! Wouldn’t want there to be any delays with the fete!” His raspy voice called back to the guard as he dragged us off. Once we were inside the walls of the city they turned to us. Migelo dropped my arm.

“Don’t give me a scare like that again! You’re lucky we got there in time to get you out of there!”

“You two really need to be more careful,” Penelo said softly, gripping Vaan’s arm a little tighter. I flashed a smile.

“Oh come on, Penni, I was in the middle of talking him down. I’d already taken this hothead over here out of the picture.”

“Well thank the gods for small miracles, but you weren’t doing yourself many favors, talking to the Imperials like that!” Migelo grouched at me, I laid a hand on his arm.

“I only told the truth, Migelo. All people should be treated with respect.”

He reached up to take my hand. “That may be, my girl, but it doesn’t mean that the Empire will appreciate your way of thinking. You must be more careful.”

Bells started chiming, drawing Migelo’s attention. “Ah! The ceremony’ll be starting soon! I’d better get moving!”

With that said he rushed off, leaving Vaan, Penelo, and myself alone. Penelo started to say something but Vaan started running. Penelo ran after him and I sighed before kicking into a run myself.

I lost Vaan and Penelo in the twists and turns of the alleyways they took, but as I broke through into a crowd of people I realized we were running alongside Vayne’s parade. I dodged between bodies and around obstacles to keep pace with the motorcade, wanting to catch at least a glimpse of Vayne. Finally, gasping for breath I slowed to a stop, doubling over and gulping down air.

“For someone who hates exercise, I seem to be doing an awful lot of it lately,” I grumbled as I straightened up.

I caught sight of Vaan or Penelo on the other side of the street and grimaced.

“Well, guess I won’t be joining them,” I muttered as I turned to scan the crowd on my side of the street. I spotted Migelo through a break in the crowd and slid my way over to him.

“Hope you don’t mind me joining you,” I said lowly, “Vaan and Penelo lost me in the crowd.” He shook his head just as an Imperial soldier stepped up to a podium. I could see Vayne standing in front and to the side of him, surveying the crowd.

“We will have order!” The soldier began. “I give you your new Consul.”

A quiet murmur of disapproval rippled through the crowd as the soldier went on to list Vayne’s titles and positions. Before the soldier could finish, Vayne was walking forward entirely ignoring the soldier at the podium. I smirked when I realized that Vayne was going off-script for how this was supposed to go.

He walked up onto the raised platform he’d ridden on in the parade.

“People of Rabanastre! Is it with hatred that you look upon your consul?” His impromptu speech began. “With hatred you look upon your Empire?” The crowd erupted with angry voices calling for the empire to go back to Archadia among other things. I let out a low whistle that was drowned out by the crowd when I heard his voice for the first time.

_ ‘Damn, Brick’s author was not exaggerating. That voice is a deadly weapon.’ _

“There was little point in asking,” he said, more to himself than the crowd. I huffed a laugh and my lips twitched with a smile.

_ ‘I have to agree. Smart as he is, he knew the answer to that.’ _

“But know this: I harbor no idle hopes of frustrating that hatred. Nor shall I ask your fealty. That is the due of your fallen king, and rightly so.” He continued on and I could see why Vaan didn’t trust a word he said. His way with words was… well, to someone like me? It was breathtaking. He also reminded me a little of the Greek god Hermes.

Hermes was the messenger of the gods; but he was also the trickster god, among other things. Vayne may not be mischievous, but he certainly had a silver tongue; and any good trickster knows that sweet-talking a mark is a nearly necessary skill.

The parallel was further strengthened in my mind when I remembered where Hermes was born. On a mountain in Arcadia. I smiled a full smile then.

“Oh, yes. Hermes it is,” I whispered to myself as Vayne sweet-talked the crowd into silence.

“What I ask, I ask plain. My hopes now rest with you,” he ended his speech, bowing his head to the crowd. As applause burst out I had to stifle a laugh. Oh, he was  _ good. _ In under two minutes he had completely turned the crowd, however temporarily, to his side. I joined the crowd in its applause, though I was applauding his trickery instead of his words.

The crowd slowly began to part after Vayne’s speech and I stayed close to Migelo. I could find Vaan and Penelo later, but something was telling me to stick with the Bangaa merchant.

When he approached the man of the hour himself I almost choked. Here was my chance to talk to Vayne-fucking-Solidor.

“I am Migelo, Your Highness,” Migelo greeted with a bow of his head. He tried to kneel then and give a more formal greeting. I had to put a hand over my mouth to stifle a laugh. I could see why other people were tripping over themselves with formalities, but I was entirely unsurprised when Vayne interrupted Migelo’s rambling.

“That’s enough of ‘Highness’. Though I am indeed our Emperor’s son, I am no prince.” He told the merchant. It would not do for you to call me Lord Consul either. Henceforth I am a citizen of Rabanastre. You may call me...Vayne." I lowered my hand and dipped into a curtsy, hoping to cover Migelo for a moment.

“Lord Solidor,” I spoke softly, giving him my name, “I must agree with my… employer. We couldn't possibly be so informal with someone of your standing. It is an honor to meet you.” I raised my head to meet Vayne’s eyes with a smile. “That was a very moving speech, I must say.”

“I am glad you feel that way, I only hope it had the desired effect on the Dalmascan people,” he responded. “Will you be attending the banquet this evening?”

I laughed softly before shaking my head. “No, my lord. I’m afraid a banquet is no place for someone like me.” I paused a moment, before adding on a whim with a rueful smirk, “I am an outlier, and should not be counted.”

If this was canon or, on the tiny chance that I had wound up in the Brick universe, before his trip to Dissidia NT courtesy of Spiritus then he wouldn’t even blink at my little reference. He showed no real reaction and I felt my spirits drop a little bit.

_ ‘There’s still a chance,’ _ my inner voice whispered.  _ ‘It could be that NT hasn’t happened yet.’ _

_ ‘Or, it could be that we’re in canon. Now be quiet.’ _

“Oh? Why would you say such a strange thing?” He seemed intrigued and I lowered my eyes to the cobblestones beneath my feet.

“Because a banquet of such import is no place for a commoner such as myself,” I told him, careful to avoid the word “citizen.”

Migelo cut back into the conversation then and I curtsied again before taking my leave to find Vaan and Penelo, their conversation fading into nothing as the crowd swallowed me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reader's leather jacket:  
> https://www.amazon.com/Tanming-Womens-Hooded-Leather-Jackets/dp/B01DPRXV46/


	3. Hatching Plans and Running Waters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vaan comes up with a hair-brained scheme that Reader decides to go along with for the hell of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeeeyyyyy, check this out! An update that isn't at 2 am! Go me!
> 
> Enjoy! :)

I finally tracked down Vaan and Penelo in an alleyway. They didn’t hear me coming up behind them and as I got closer I heard Vaan say something.

“Hey, Penelo. That fete tonight… You think they’ll let us in?”

Penelo laughed softly, “Are you crazy? It’s in the palace and we don’t have an invitation, in case you hadn’t noticed.” I smirked, finally speaking up.

“Speak for yourselves,” I said, startling them. They both jumped and whirled around to face me.

“What do you mean,  _ ‘speak for yourselves’? _ You mean you ended up with an invitation?” Vaan looked bitter and I grinned at him.

“Maybe not an invitation, so much as Vayne asked if I was attending. There was a chance that my response intrigued him enough for him to request that Migelo bring me.”

“How could you just stand there and smile and have a pleasant conversation with that… that man?!” Vaan exploded at me. I smiled calmly back at him since I had been somewhat expecting his outburst.

“Because I know things that you couldn’t possibly know,” I responded simply. He glared.

“What, because I’m just a poor little orphan?”

My smile dropped and my eyes hardened as I took a step forward to close the distance between us, angling my face so that I looked Vaan directly in the eyes.

“No, Vaan. Because I am from an entirely different universe and that has given me a certain understanding of  _ some _ things that you couldn’t hope to fathom,” I hissed lowly. “Trust me when I say that there are things that I know that you have no way of knowing simply because you are a natural part of this world, while  _ I _ am some laughable divine intervention at best.”

“And what about at worst?” He asked with some bite to his voice. My eyes narrowed.

“At worst?” I echoed softly. “At worst, I am a cosmic mistake that has yet to be corrected.” Vaan’s eyes widened with surprise before softening with a hint of regret.

Penelo cleared her throat softly. “I don’t think you’re a mistake.” Then she turned to Vaan to change the subject and lessen the tension. “Why the sudden interest in getting into the palace?”

“I told you, I’m going to take back what’s ours.” He sounded determined and I smiled. “If I find something and it fetches a good price… How about I buy you all dinner!”

Penelo scoffed, “Please. We all know the first thing  _ you’d _ buy is an airship.”

“Well, it sounds as though I’ll be avoiding Migelo for the remainder of the day.” I said softly.

“And why is that?” Vaan asked me.

“Because I’m going to help you, obviously,” I told him with a grin. “And if I’m going to do that, then I don’t want Migelo to have to lie about not knowing where I am or not being able to find me if Vayne asks him why I’m not there. Assuming he requested Migelo to bring me, obviously.”

“But if you went couldn’t you just… let me in?”

I frowned at him. “Vaan, think about it. If Migelo brings me to the banquet and I let in a thief, Migelo will get in trouble too. Not to mention if Vayne was intrigued enough to request my presence, he would definitely be aware of me for the duration of the event if he let me leave his company at all.” I shook my head.

“No, it will be much simpler and there will be less chance for this to backfire if Migelo is unable to find me.”

“Then you should go talk to Old Dalan in Lowtown,” Penelo chimed in, before turning around and jogging down the road.

Vaan and I turned to look at each other.

“I’m sorry for…earlier,” he said softly as we started to walk towards the nearest entrance to Lowtown.

I hummed softly. “It’s fine. I understand your hatred for Vayne, but try to remember…” I trailed off as we came to a door. I put my hand on the door handle and turned my head to look at Vaan. “Every antagonist believes himself to be the hero of his own story. What you may see as senseless evil, he may see as a necessary evil to protect what he holds dear.”

Vaan’s brows furrowed as he thought about what I said. I opened the door and motioned for him to enter first before following him down the steps.

He was silent the rest of the way to Old Dalan. When we walked through the door I smelled sweet smoke and sweat and I scrunched my nose up.

“Ah! If it isn’t Vaan Ratsbane, and his little accomplice!” I pouted at the old man before my eyes zeroed in on the rabbit he was petting.

“Bunny!” I hissed, slapping Vaan’s arm and feeling the excitement etch itself onto my face. The old man laughed.

“Come for a tip on how to skewer something bigger and in armor?” Dalan hinted, glancing up I saw humor twinkling in his wrinkled eyes. “By the east gate?” I smirked. This old man somehow knew everything that happened in this city.

“You already heard about that?” Vaan seemed surprised while I just grinned at the old man. I liked him.

“Wise I may not be, but well-informed I am.” He said sagely and for a second my brain superimposed a wrinkly green creature in his place. Then I blinked and it was gone.

_ ‘When 900 years old you reach, look as good you will not.’ _

I stifled a smile as I listened to the rest of the conversation.

“I want to know how to sneak into the palace,” Vaan said. “They gotta have some good stuff in there.Thought I’d partake.”

The old man laughed, pulling the mouthpiece for his hookah to his mouth to take a long pull.

“Not one to mince words, are you boy? And what of your accomplice? Does she wish to partake too?”

I shook my head. “No, sir. I’m tagging along to keep  _ him _ out of trouble.” He eyed me carefully.

“You say that now, but something tells me you’ll find something in there for yourself.” Then he turned his attention back to Vaan. “The Empire protects all that’s hers. That means the palace and all the treasures inside.”

“That’s why we’re gonna do it! To take back what’s ours!”

Dalan was silent for a moment before speaking again. “So our champion of the sewers aspires to noble action. Admirable. Perhaps I can help you.”

I let out a sigh of relief.

“Now that I think on it, there was a rumor. Yes. A secret passageway into the palace vaults, a door, and a magicked stone to open the way.”

“That’s it!” Vaan exclaimed excitedly. “This is exactly why I came to talk to you first, Dalan. So where’s this, uh, magicked stone?”

“Eh? Oh, I’ve had it for years,” the old man said as though talking about the weather. “If I can remember where I’ve tucked it away…” I snorted. Of course the mysterious old man in the sewers would have the secret key to the palace vault.

_ ‘Video game logic, I swear.’ _

“Will you lend it to us,” I asked politely. Vaan side-eyed me.

“The Crescent Stone has lost its magicks. Without the power of a Sunstone, it will be of little use,” Dalan told us.

“Of course. If it were as easy as having the Crescent Stone you would’ve just given it to us and pointed us in the right direction,” I said with a smile.

“So where can we get a Sunstone?” Vaan asked.

“You seek Giza Plains,” Dalan said. “Speak with the nomads there and you will find your Sunstone. Leave by Southgate and continue south. Their village is not far. There are like to be beasts on the plains, so be careful. Both of you.”

“Ohhhhhh, no. Nuh uh. Vaan, this was your idea. I’ve had enough sand for the day.” Vaan and Dalan both looked amused and I continued my word vomit. “I’ll stay  _ riiiiiight here _ where I can’t be assaulted by sand and you can go get this Sunstone so we can evolve our Oddish and go beat the water type gym leader.”

Dalan chuckled. “I am not sure what she is talking about, but it seems the lady has spoken.”

“I have no idea what she’s talking about either,” Vaan replied before turning back to me. “Alright, fine, have it your way. I’ll be back later.”

I spent the next few hours listening to Dalan tell me old stories and legends. He told me about the stones that supposedly signified the rightful heirs to the kingdoms. He told me stories of the gods of this world. He even told me a little of his childhood and the previous rulers of Dalmasca.

By the time Vaan returned I had a rabbit on my lap and Dalan was in the middle of another story.

“So then, Ramza set out for Limberry Castle, believing Alma was there. Instead of Alma, however, he found—Ah! Vaan m’boy!” I turned to send a halfhearted glare to Vaan.

“He was just getting to the good part, too.” I picked up the rabbit I had affectionately named Peter and handed it back to Dalan so I could stand.

“Did you get the Sunstone?” I asked, looking him over. He held out his hand and I saw a glowing rock.

“That’s… not at all what I was expecting,” I mumbled to myself.

“Hand it over, m’boy,” Dalan said. “And I’ll use it to give the Crescent Stone back its magicks like I promised.”

While Dalan transferred the power from one stone to the other he spoke again.

“Now you’ll want to be knowing how to sneak into the palace, eh? First, you go to storehouse five. You know the one,” he told us with a twinkle in his eye. I glanced at Vaan, but he didn’t seem worried.

Storehouse five was where the entrance to our “Training Area” was and, as Kytes had pointed out earlier, we weren’t exactly supposed to be down there.

“Two doors, she has.” But we’d never been able to get into the other door.

“The right door will take Vaan Ratsbane and his accomplice down into their territorial hunting grounds in the sewerbottom, but that’s not the way you’ll go. No, you’ll take the left door, down into the Garamsythe Waterway.”

He pulled on his hookah before continuing. “The waterway leads to a stair, the stair to the palace cellars. That’s your way in.”

I hummed thoughtfully. This could seriously work. The plan had merit. Granted it had a couple holes, like how we would get out once Vaan found something worth stealing, but I decided that could be dealt with when we got to it.

“Don’t go counting your gil just yet,” he told us, effectively halting my confidence in this plan. “Getting into the palace was the easy part. The way to the treasury is carefully hidden.”

_ ‘Of course it would be. Magicked stones and secret passages and all that.’ _

“That’s where this Crescent Stone comes in,” he said, holding the stone out for us to see. “The magicks it bears can open the hidden door to the treasury, you see. Listen well, for the words I shall speak are most important, and not to be forgotten. Do you understand?”

I crossed my arms and waited for him to continue.

_ “‘The signet yearns for Sunstone’s strength, to light the clouded way.’ _ Once in the palace you’ll find the signet tile, very important. Give to it the sun’s power and it will light your path.” Seriously? What was this signet tile supposed to look like?

“Oh, a warning,” Dalan began in a serious voice. “Be aware that if you’re caught you’ll spend the rest of your short life rotting in the Nalbina Dungeons.” Then his mood shifted entirely and his voice was cheerful again. “So, look sharp, m’boy! And you keep your eyes on him, child, make sure he doesn’t rush off before you’re both ready. Plans freshly hatched have a habit of tumbling from the nest straight into the hunter’s stewpot.”

I nodded and Vaan took the Crescent Stone from Dalan before following me out of the little room and into Lowtown.

“Well that was reassuring,” I muttered.

“What do you think we should do to get ready?” Vaan asked me. I thought for a moment before a realization struck me.

“Vaan.”

“What? What is it?”

“We never went back to the tavern to collect the bounty for tomato bitch,” I hissed sharply.

“Is that all? Well let’s go now,” Vaan said, starting to walk off. I grabbed his shoulder and spun him to face me.

“I can’t, Vaan. I’m supposed to be hiding from Migelo!” I scowled at the street, thinking over the options.

“Alright. You go turn that hunt in without me.”

“What about the reward?” He asked, looking unsure. “You did most of the work, you deserve it.”

“If you really think that, then take the money and… go to the weaponsmith.” I said, coming to a decision.

“You want your second dagger?” He guessed. I shook my head.

“Forget the second dagger.” He looked relieved but it quickly faded when he saw the gleam in my eye.

“Why do I have the feeling I’m not going to like the alternative any better?” He grumbled and I grinned.

“Because you won’t. Buy a one-handed sword.”

“What?!” He screeched and I put a hand over his mouth for a moment.

“Not so loud, Kid. I’m supposed to be keeping a low profile.” I took my hand away and smiled. “A sword and dagger can be just as effective as dual daggers.”

He rolled his eyes. “Whatever you say. I’m not going to argue. Just go wait for me next to the entrance to the waterway. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

I nodded and watched him head toward the entrance to the surface before turning and making my way to storehouse five.

When I got there I opened the door and found Kytes.

_ ‘Damn. So close.’ _

“Hey, Weird Girl! Migelo’s looking for you, something about the banquet tonight.” Kytes told me happily. I sighed, then got down on my knees in front of the boy.

“Kytes, I want you to listen very carefully, okay?” When he nodded I took his hands and looked him in the eye.

“I need you to tell Migelo that you looked  _ everywhere _ for me, but you couldn’t find me. Tell him you think I went out of the city if you need to. It’s very important that he has absolutely  _ no idea _ where I am. Okay?”

The boy looked confused as he nodded again and I gripped his hands tighter. “Promise me, Kytes. I’m trying to keep Migelo safe, and the  _ only _ way I can do that right now is if he can’t find me and invite me to that banquet. So you have to promise me that you never saw me, can you do that?”

“I can do that. I promise,” he said softly. I nodded once with a smile.

“Good. I’ll apologize to Migelo tomorrow,” I told him as I stood back up.

_ ‘If we survive Vaan’s hair-brained scheme.’ _

_ ‘You _ _ are not helping.’ _

“So what are you doing down here? I mean I know you were supposed to be looking for me, but you obviously got side-tracked.”

He sent me a sheepish grin. “I finally figured out how to get through the door on the left. I hope there’s something down there other than rats.”

I reached out to ruffle his hair. “Oh I’m sure there is, but why don’t you let Vaan and I explore it first to make sure it’s safe?”

“Okay!” He nodded quickly before looking toward the door to Lowtown. “I guess… I should go tell Migelo I couldn’t find you,” he said. I put a hand on his shoulder.

“You’re doing a good thing, Kytes. There’s a chance Migelo could get in a lot of trouble if he knew where I was.”

“Will… will  _ I _ get in trouble?” Kytes sounded worried and I winced.

“No, Buddy. I can’t tell you why, but I can promise you that you won’t get in trouble.” I pulled the kid into a hug.

“Awwwwwww no hugs!” He whined and I laughed.

“That’s better. More like the Kytes I’m used to.”

“You’re so weird,” he told me before leaving me alone in the storehouse.

I was there for probably twenty minutes waiting for Vaan, and never in the three weeks since I had ended up in this world had I missed my cell phone as much as I did while I was sitting in that storeroom, staring at the walls.

Finally, I started singing a song from Earth to pass the time. It was one of my favorites, and I was just starting the last verse when the door opened. My song cut off and I stood from where I was leaning against the wall.

“It’s about time, Vaan,” I said with a smile as he handed me my new sword. I moved the sheath for my dagger so it was horizontal on my lower back with the handle on my off-hand side, then I strapped on the sword sheath with the handle coming up over my shoulder.

“Yessssssss,” I drew out the ‘s’ in a hiss and grinned at my companion. “It’s perfect, thank you Vaan.”

“Yeah, whatever. You were right to stay down here,” he told me. “I had to dodge Migelo, he’s searching everywhere for you.”

“Then we better get into that waterway before he comes searching down here,” I told him. “You ready?”

He nodded and turned to the door when I gestured to it.

“Then let’s go, the door’s already open.”

The air in the tunnels of the waterway was predictably damp and there was a chill in the air. I took one look at the water rushing past in the canal and scrunched my nose up as I stepped backwards to get close to the wall.

“What, do you not like water  _ either?” _ Vaan snarked at me. I stuck my tongue out at him.

“I like water just fine. I just prefer it in a glass. Or a tub. Or a shower. Not rushing past me at like…two miles an hour. It doesn’t sound fast, but it is. I prefer  _ not _ drowning, thank you very much.”

Vaan snorted and turned to walk down the passageway and I followed cautiously behind him, staying close to the wall. We walked up the stairs and as Vaan walked over a mesh grate to the other side of the channel I narrowed my eyes at it. He stepped off onto the other side and turned to look at me.

“Come on, you can’t be serious right now. It’s perfectly safe to cross,” he sighed as I continued to eye the grate warily.

“You say that,” I mumbled. “But you’re also unreasonably reckless.” He raised an eyebrow at me with his arms crossed as if to say “You’re one to talk.”

“Ugh, fine!” I gave in, throwing my hands up in the air. “But if I fall to my watery death, I’m going to come back and haunt your ass.” As he laughed I stepped onto the grate, fixing my eyes on the edge of the ledge Vaan was standing on.

I slowly inched my way across the gap, grumbling to myself the whole time. Finally I stepped off onto the solid stone of the platform on the other side, sending Vaan the dirtiest look I could.

“You’re going to be the death of me, Kid.” I growled at him as I got close to the wall. He laughed.

“I told you it was safe. Let’s go.” He started down the path again and I followed cautiously behind him. We turned a corner into a section of tunnel that wasn’t next to rushing water and my breath started to come a little easier. At least until Vaan looked over his shoulder with a smirk.

“Hey. Why don’t you show me how effective your dual-wielding is in practice?” He tilted his head towards a rat and I grimaced.

“Now see,” I began as I unsheathed my sword, “Just because it’s effective doesn’t mean it’s effective in every situation.” I stepped past my blond friend and twirled my sword before dashing towards the rat. With a few clean strokes of my new sword the rat was dead and I was flicking the blade to the side to get the blood off.

“Now, I know this is new to me,” Vaan began and I could just  _ hear _ the smirk in his voice, “But that didn’t look like dual-wielding.” I glared over my shoulder at him as I slid the blade home in its sheath.

“Obviously because it wasn’t. This type of dual wielding is more effective against bigger and smarter enemies than a  _ single rat.” _ He hummed softly and walked past me with a mischievous tilt to his lips.

“Whatever you say.”

He made a left into a hallway that was a dead end but had a chest in it.

“Oh, there’s chests down here,” he said casually, and I just knew I was going to regret ever coming down here with him.

As we made our way through the waterway there were more rats to kill, along with some bats that kindly flapped in place as they attacked us so we could hit them with our weapons, and more grates to walk across. Each grate had my heart in my throat and my palms were clammy. Vaan seemed to be endlessly amused by my apprehension and gleefully decided he needed to hunt down every last chest in the waterway.

He intentionally took wrong turns, only to have to back-track across grates we’d already traversed once we came to a dead end. After the third wrong turn and the fifth time I had to cross over the rushing water below with only a metal grate between me and a watery death I shuffled over to the wall and slid down to sit on the floor to catch my breath.

“I hate you,” I told him conversationally. He grinned back.

“No, you don’t. If you did you would have left.”

“Don’t tempt me, Kid.” I hissed at him as I offered my hand for him to help me up. Once I was standing we started off again.

We ended up going down some stairs and across yet another grate to an area of the waterway that seemed to be perpetually covered in two inches of water and there were large gaps with  _ still more _ grates to traverse, that allowed the water to drain off into a seemingly bottomless pit.

_ “Video games,” _ I hissed to myself. Vaan turned to raise an eyebrow at me.

“What was that?”

“Oh, uh...nothing,” I lied, “Just thinking about how much I miss video games.”

“Mm-hm,” Vaan didn’t sound convinced but let it drop.

_ ‘You should be more careful. It wouldn’t help anyone’s situation for them to know that they’re fictional characters in a video game from your world.’ _

_ ‘Shut up, I know that. It’s just that video game physics and logic are still hard to wrap my head around when I’m looking right at them. Besides, It’s not like I ever played this one.’ _

We kept walking until Vaan saw more rats and pulled out his dagger. I came to a stop, staring at something swimming in the air above the rats.

_ “Is that a fish?!” _ My panicked squeak made Vaan look back at me before looking at the thing in the air.

“Oh. I guess, kind of? It’s an Ichthon.”

“Oh, well never mind then, that’s perfectly normal,” I hissed back sarcastically as I took my sword out. My left hand rested lightly on the hilt of my dagger as I debated whether or not I should use it too.

“It'll leave us alone so long as we don’t attack it,” Vaan said, sensing my trepidation. I nodded, but drew my dagger anyway. Working together, Vaan and I took down the three rats he had spotted and the single bat that had shown up during the fight. Vaan had been right, the flying fish thing had ignored our existence entirely.

Now that I wasn’t worried about it attacking us I took a moment to observe it as I squatted to rinse the blood off my blades.

It was swimming gracefully through the air and I felt a soft smile come to my lips. It looked a little like a Betta fish with how it moved and the way its fins flowed. It was really rather pretty, if you ignored the mouthful of giant pointy teeth it had. Its body was dark blue, but its fins were an ombre that started as white-ish blue and turned into a gorgeous aqua color farther from its body.

“Are you just going to stare all day, or are we going to finish breaking into the palace,” Vaan said next to my ear and I jumped.

“Don’t sneak up on me like that!” I yelped at him as I sheathed my blades and stood, motioning for him to move. “Lead the way, Kid.” He chuckled, having learned in the first week of being around me not to get mad when I called him Kid. It only made me do it more.

We kept walking and after crossing another grate and going up some stairs we came to an actual, real bridge. I gasped dramatically and put a hand over my heart.

“Vaan, do you know what this is?!”

He rolled his eyes. “It’s a—”

“It’s a  _ bridge!” _ I cut him off. “A real, honest to gods bridge, made out of stone and everything!” He sighed and I continued with fake wonder in my voice. “I didn’t know they made these here! I thought the only thing the people who built this waterway knew how to do was throw a metal grate over a gap!”

“Alright, alright,” he interrupted impatiently, “I get it. You’re not a fan of the grates.” I raised an eyebrow at him.

“Really,” I deadpanned, “What tipped you off? Was it the sweaty palms or the death threats?”

“Actually, it was the look of barely concealed terror,” he snarked back.

“Damn,” I snapped my fingers and looked put out. “And I tried  _ so hard _ to hide that, too.”

Vaan shook his head and grabbed my wrist to drag me across the small bridge and down the stairs on the other side. There were more Ichthons and bats—which I had learned were called Steelings—and once Vaan was satisfied he’d gotten the chests in this part of the waterway he led me up some stairs and to another, much longer set of stairs. I whistled as I looked toward the top of them which disappeared in the darkness.

“Now, if I were a gambling man—”

“You’re not a man,” Vaan interrupted.

“Very observant, congratulations.” I pinned him with a look before continuing. “If I  _ were _ a gambling man, I would bet that this is the set of stairs Dalan was talking about.”

"Well, there’s one way to find out,” Vaan said cheerfully. I sniffed.

“You go first, Leader.”

He shook his head and started up the stairs with me following close behind.

We ended up in a very ornate room that looked like it was used for storage.

“Seriously? Gold leaf and engraved doors for a fucking pantry? What kind of snobs  _ lived _ here?” I said more to myself than Vaan as I took in my surroundings.

“The Dalmascan Royal family,” Vaan replied, sounding somewhat offended.

I glanced over and shook my head. “I’m not sure why you’re so loyal to them, there were still poor people and orphans when they were in charge yet look how they lived.”

“They didn’t start the war, Archadia did!” Vaan snapped. I put my hands up to placate him.

“Alright, alright. I’ll shut up about it.” Vaan nodded and pushed open the overly fancy door to go into a large area that looked like it had a bunch of palace servants in it. We split up and talked to a few of the servants only to find out that everyone was confined to this room until after the banquet. I snorted as I walked away from one of the servants and over to Vaan.

_ “We must have servants, but they must not be seen!” _ I mocked under my breath to Vaan. He snorted too.

“Yeah, it’s pretty ridiculous,” he agreed. “Although, I did learn that a lot of the soldiers aren’t in the palace tonight.”

I hummed softly. “Seems like we lucked out then, huh.”

He nodded as we approached the large group of servants near the stairs.

“You’ll be on clean-up duty when the fete’s over. Wait here until we’re ready for you,” one of the soldiers told the group as we got close. “No one goes to the upper floor until we give the order. Step out of line and you  _ will _ be punished.”

I rolled my eyes so hard I made Robert Downey Junior look like an amateur.

“Why is it that people who have servants think that if no one  _ sees _ the servants then everyone else will think that there  _ are _ no servants and that everything just gets cleaned automatically?” I asked Vaan under my breath. He shrugged.

“I don’t know, but we have to figure out a way to get to the upper floor before the fete is over.” Vaan walked toward the soldier before I could stop him and I stood next to a large Bangaa, hoping I wouldn’t have to get him out of trouble. When he got turned away I heard the Bangaa next to me mutter, “What’s he doing? Trying to go upstairs?”

I stepped back so the lizard-man couldn’t see me and waved Vaan over. When he got close I stepped forward again.

“Trying to go upstairs, ain’t you! I know… Yer hungry!” I covered my mouth to hold in a giggle. He wasn’t far off base, he was just thinking about the wrong type of appetite. “I don’t blame you. An empty stomach would make me want to crash the fete, too!” I lowered my hand to my stomach and put on my best pout.

“That’s exactly right, sir. We’re both just so hungry, so my brother here thought he would try to talk our way into the fete.” Vaan looked like he started to panic on the inside when he heard the word brother, but by the time the Bangaa looked back to him he was nodding sincerely.

“I just couldn’t sit by and let my sister starve, but the soldier won’t let us upstairs.”

Well, we can’t have that now can we? I’ll help you out. Call the guard over here. I’ll take care of him and you two can make for the stairs.”

“Thank you so much,” I told him with a smile as Vaan called to the guard.

“Be careful, if you get too close he’ll notice you.” I nodded and dragged Vaan to the side as the guard started to approach. While the Bangaa talked to the guard Vaan and I scampered up the stairs.

“So what was it Old Dalan said?  _ ‘The signet yearns for sunstone’s strength to light the clouded way’?” _ Vaan whispered to me. I nodded and whispered back, “Yeah, we have to find the signet tile. If I understood what he said, once we find the tile we use the sunstone and it will open the door to the vault.”

“Alright, well let’s get searching.” Vaan led the way down the hall, only for me to drag him to a stop at the first intersection.

“Vaan, I thought you said most of the soldiers weren’t in the palace,” I hissed as I counted five guards, three to the left and two straight ahead.

“Don’t worry about it. Just follow my lead,” he said before strolling down the hallway like he owned the place. I watched with wide eyes as he got halfway to the two guards in front of us, then stopped and  _ called out to them. _

He turned and ran back to me, grabbing my arm and dragging me to the right.

“Are you insane? You’re going to get us caught!”

“Just trust me,” he hissed back at me as we ducked around a corner.

I followed him through the halls as he called to groups of guards, getting them to follow him to different intersections of the hallways. I shook my head in amazement as we stood on a signet that matched the engraving on the stone.

“You are… insane. I can’t believe this worked,” I told Vaan as he held the Crescent Stone over the floor tile. I looked around waiting for a door to open, but nothing happened.

“Well, that’s that, now we just need to find the vault door,” Vaan walked down the hallway away from the intersection the guards were standing in. When we got to the next intersection I tugged him to the right then let go and walked on.

“Hey. I think we should look this way,” I told him as I walked away. I got to another intersection and looked around. To the right was a group of guards Vaan had re-positioned earlier. To the left was a dead end. As I looked down the hall to the left I noticed a small glow that looked fairly out of place. I waved my hand around blindly behind me and caught Vaan in the chest.

“Ow.”

“Hush, crybaby.” I turned and went to investigate the light, hearing Vaan trail behind me. The hallway seemed to be a dead end, but as I inspected the glow behind an unassuming wall decoration from a few feet away a smile came to my face.

“The signet yearns for sunstone’s strength to light the clouded way. Give to it the sun’s power, and it will light your way,” I quoted Dalan’s words with a grin. “Those genius bastards.”

“Who?” Vaan seemed confused as we looked at the light. I took a step forward and when I heard a click I turned to look at him with a grin.

“Whoever the hell came up with this vault design,” I said as the “wall decoration” we had just been staring at sank into the floor, revealing itself to be a door instead. I grabbed Vaan’s hand and tugged him through the newly revealed doorway.

As soon as we stepped into the secret passage on the other side the door slid shut. I looked at it with narrowed eyes.

“Here’s hoping there’s another way out,” I said quietly. We walked side by side down the hall and turned a corner to come face-to-face with an overly ornate wall that looked like it was a very large door.

“I swear to god if this is the bathroom I’m leaving and burning this place to the ground. Stupidly fancy doors and all.”

Vaan glared at me before walking up to push the door open. Only to fail.

“It’s stuck,” he grunted as he tried to force it open. I huffed.

“Of course it is. It’s a vault. Just because we found the secret passage doesn’t mean the vault door is just gonna be open,” I said as I turned and scanned the walls around us. My eyes zeroed in on one spot at about eye level to my right and I walked up to it.

My fingers trailed lightly across the design on the wall and came to a rest on the barely perceptible deviation from the pattern. I pushed.

I heard a click, then a groan, then Vaan yelped.

“What did you do?” I came back to where I had been standing before to see Vaan pushing himself off the floor, halfway in the adjacent room and halfway still in the secret passage. I smirked.

“I unlocked the door, duh.” I said as I stepped past him into the vault. I looked around in mild interest as Vaan pushed himself to his feet and came to stand next to me.

“Look at all this treasure,” he breathed in awe. I scowled.

“Yeah. Look at all this money that the old kings hoarded instead of helping the poor or the orphaned in their kingdom,” I muttered as he ran off to search for something he wanted to take. I walked slowly through the vault, my scowl getting progressively deeper as I saw more and more valuable jewels and metal and coins and jewelry.

Vaan was rummaging around, grumbling softly, when something caught my eye. On top of a pile, glinting in the light was a gorgeous silver y-drop necklace with an amethyst at the end and three at the junction connecting the drop to the rest of the necklace. I reached out and picked it up, admiring the way it caught the light in the vault.

“I guess the old man was right,” I whispered to myself, “I did find something for myself.”

I slipped it over my head and the hanging amethyst came to rest in the middle of my chest, just under the neckline of my shirt. I turned when I heard a low rumble to see Vaan looking around, confused, and the face of a statue toward the back of the vault was  _ moving. _ I raised an eyebrow at Vaan who shrugged.

“I dunno, I guess I must have moved a secret switch or something.”

_ “Obviously,” _ I said as I turned my attention back to the statue. There was something in the now revealed compartment behind the face of the statue. Vaan and I approached cautiously but curiously to see a stone resting there. It looked like some type of uncut quartz or something and I watched intently as Vaan reached out to take it. When it was in his hand, however, there was a new rumble and I looked to the side to see a door I had previously ignored opening.

“Quite the performance,” a man said as he stepped through the door. I couldn’t help but feel like he was vaguely familiar even though I was sure I’d never seen him before. I narrowed my eyes at him.

“And just who the hell are  _ you?” _ I asked, crossing my arms over my chest. His eyes trailed up and down my form before he smirked.

“I play the leading man, who else?” He told me in a soft, confident voice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The necklace reader finds in the vault:  
> https://www.amazon.com/espere-Sterling-Necklace-Y-Shaped-Platinum/dp/B07DBVYXXN/
> 
> Just substitute the cubic zirconia for amethyst :)


	4. Fallen Angels and Gods-Forsaken Waterways

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vaults, freefalls, and more waterways.

“And just who the hell are  _ you?” _ I asked, crossing my arms over my chest. His eyes trailed up and down my form before he smirked.

“I play the leading man, who else?” He told me in a soft, confident voice. “Fran, the magicite.”

I felt my eyes widen at his words and my lips parted in surprise. That’s why I knew this man. My eyes darted across his features, his short blond hair, darker than Vaan’s by a couple shades and spiked up in the front. His calculating look and strong jaw. It was the sky pirate.

“Not-Ignis,” I breathed in awe. The man in question raised an eyebrow at me.

“I beg your pardon?”

“Then beg,” I shot back without thinking. Vaan snorted.

“Smooth,” he said just as a girl with bunny ears came up behind him. She was wearing… armor, in a sense. Though it looked more like metal lingerie.

“Now then, I’ll take that,” she said as she looked down at Vaan. He backed up a few steps.

“No you won’t! I found it, it’s mine!”

“And then when I take it from you, it’ll be mine,” Not-Ignis told us calmly as he walked around us to lean against a box next to the bunny girl, his voice sending chills down my spine, and not in a bad way.

I stepped between them and Vaan with my hand resting on the hilt of my dagger.

“Look, Fran. I’m sure you’re nice and all, but that rock is ours and I will end both you  _ and _ Mister Leading Man over there if you try to take it. We clear?” I hoped that my bluff would be enough to get them to back off.

“Rock?” The man scoffed, “You don’t even know what it is and you think you should have it?” I thought back quickly to everything I knew about what had happened with Vayne from the little that had been covered in Brick before I cleared my throat and glared at the duo in front of me.

“You called it magicite?” At a nod from the two sky pirates I gripped the hilt of my dagger tighter. “Then truthfully, no one should have it. Not you, not us.” Vaan squawked indignantly behind me and I used the hand still holding my dagger to discreetly motion for him to be quiet. “It should be destroyed before someone can get their hands on it who would use it for… ahem—more nefarious purposes.”

Not-Ignis smirked at me. “Oh? And how do you know that we don’t plan to use it for nefarious purposes?”

“He has a point,” I heard Vaan whisper behind me. “You have no way of knowing what they want with it.”

I grimaced. “Call it a hunch,” I said simply. Before anyone could say anything else there were voices yelling outside and we all looked to the door of the vault.

“Well, that’s not a good sign,” I grumbled.

“The gods do not smile on us,” Fran said to Not-Ignis.

“I like it better that way,” Not-Ignis shrugged and I chuckled.

“It seems we have something in common then, Not-Ignis,” I said softly, earning another confused look from him.

Vaan grabbed my arm and bolted for the door Not-Ignis and Fran had come through. As we rounded the corner he slowed to a stop, watching as multiple soldiers clattered through the halls.

“Something’s happening,” I told him in a hushed tone. “An alarm has obviously been raised, but it wasn’t us or our new acquaintances in the vault. Otherwise they would be heading towards us, not away from us.”

He nodded and grabbed my arm to pull me along behind him as he started running again. Up a much too long set of stairs.

I panted as I trailed behind Vaan, hoping beyond hope that the stairs would end soon. As we made it to the top of the fourth too-long set I doubled over with my hands on my knees, trying to catch my breath.

“Come on,” Vaan hissed. “Remember what Old Dalan said. If we get caught, we’ll end up in the Nalbina Dungeons.” I nodded weakly and followed him through yet another overly ornate door. It led outside onto one of the walls of the palace.

Sounds of swords clashing and battle cries reached my ears and I slowed to a stop at the same time Vaan did. We both glanced over the side of the wall to the palace courtyard below to see Imperial soldiers fighting some enemy I didn’t recognize.

“What’s going on?” I heard him ask just before artillery shot past us to explode in the courtyard below.

“What the hell?!” I shouted angrily. “They’re going to kill their own people just to take out a few of the enemy numbers?!” I wasn’t sure which side had come up with such an idiotic battle strategy, but it made me want to slap someone. Not-Ignis ran up behind me.

“The  _ Ifrit, _ eh?" We all looked up to see a mechanical airship—warship—above us.

_ 'Ifrit!? Why the fuck isn't it a summon? Or even a Primal or that evil sonofabitch from Eos!? I know they can't all be good little fire puppies like the Aeon in Spira, but a fucking warship?' _

“That’s quite an entrance.” Not-Ignis continued speaking, unaware of the twinge of disappointment rippling through me. “Impeccable timing. If I didn’t know better, I’d say they were waiting all along.”

Vaan grabbed my arm and hauled me along behind him again just as the warship overhead launched another missile into the courtyard. My heart was beating fast and I clenched my teeth, fighting off the panic so that I could think clearly.

The not-an-Aeon-or-evil-god  _ Ifrit _ seemed more concerned with the crowd in the courtyard, so I didn’t figure we would be in immediate danger from that, but Not-Ignis was presumably still after the magicite in Vaan’s possession and Fran was nowhere to be seen.

Almost on cue, the woman flew up over the side of the wall and slid to a stop in front of Vaan and I, riding a floating motorcycle of some sort. My eyes lit up as a jerked Vaan to a stop as well.

“If we make it out of this alive, I want one of those,” I hissed at my friend as he eyed Fran warily. I turned to press my back to his and watched Not-Ignis approach us slowly from the direction we’d just come.

“End of the line,” he nearly snarled at us. My lips twitched up to sneer at him as I drew my sword and dagger. He raised his hand, palm up as if waiting for us to give him something. “You have something that belongs to me.”

I scoffed. “Bullshit,” I spat the word at him. “If it belonged to you it wouldn’t have been in the Dalmascan Palace vault.”

He started to approach us, only to look over his shoulder and spit out a curse when more Imperials spilled onto the walkway we were all on.

“More this way!” I heard one of the soldiers call. Not-Ignis started running at us.

“Fran! Let’s move!”

I sheathed my weapons, assuming he was going to cut his losses and leave us to the Imperials, but he pushed me out of the way to throw Vaan over his shoulder as Fran drove her flying motorcycle over the edge of the wall. Then I stared in horror as Not-Ignis tossed my friend, the only person other than Penelo who knew where I actually came from, over the edge.

I distantly heard a strangled cry that sounded somewhat like it came from me and I shot forward, intending to punch the sky pirate in his stupid, gorgeous face. He whirled around and caught my fist.

“Ah, ah, ah. We’re going too,” he told me just as he wrapped his arm around my waist and threw us both off the wall, holding me firmly against his chest. He landed on the back of Fran’s fancy flying motorcycle and reached out as Fran swooped down so he could grab hold of Vaan’s arm.

“Let go of me,” I heard Vaan yell and I raised my voice so he could hear me over the rushing wind and the battle cries, cutting off anything Not-Ignis could say in response.

“You might wanna rethink that request, Kid! I’d rather you stay alive, and that’s far less likely if Not-Ignis lets you go!”

“I’d really like for you to explain that ridiculous name once we get out of here,” I heard Not-Ignis’ voice low in my ear and I could feel the vibration in his chest. I felt my face heat up a little, even as I smirked.

“Not likely,” I said just loud enough for him to hear.

The machine we were on dipped and bobbed through the air and it sounded as though Fran was having trouble steering.

“What’s going on, Fran?”

“I don’t know! It’s not heeding me!” She called back. Heeding? Was it like a horse? Was it technology that was alive? I was so confused but gods did I want to learn. I heard and felt Not-Ignis groan in frustration.

“I don’t have time for this!”

“I’m slipping!” I heard Vaan yell and I let go of where I was clutching Not-Ignis’ shirt to reach out towards Vaan.

“Vaan,” I yelled. “I need you to trust me, okay?”

I heard him cry what I assumed was assent and I grabbed the magicite from him and passed it to my opposite hand, holding it tight. Then I reached out to him again and clapped my hand onto his forearm. As soon as my fingers closed around his arm his hand did the same to my arm. I looked up at the sky pirate.

“You can let him go, but I need you to hold onto me. Otherwise we both fall along with the magicite.”

I felt his arm tighten around my waist and he let go of Vaan completely, much to Vaan’s surprise and dismay, to wrap his other arm around my waist as well. I let out a strained cry as I took all of Vaan’s weight onto my single arm, and I buried my face into Not-Ignis’ chest to muffle my voice as I screamed at Vaan, not caring if he actually heard me or responded.

“FUCK, WHY DO YOU WEIGH SO MUCH?”

I felt Not-Ignis chuckle just before the flying motorcycle beneath us seemed to die and my stomach was left behind as we dropped. My grip on the magicite and on Vaan tightened as I tumbled out of the sky pirate’s arms.

-

I blinked slowly, sitting up and holding a hand to my head. It looked like we had somehow landed in the Garamsythe Waterway and I could only assume that one of those last missile blasts had broken through to the waterway beneath the palace courtyard.

I still had the magicite gripped tightly in one hand. I looked over at Vaan, who was sitting up and trying to shake off his daze. Then my eyes shifted to Fran, who was inspecting the remains of her flying motorcycle which was, sadly, in pieces. Not-Ignis was sitting a little ways past her on some stairs.

“What happened,” Fran asked seemingly no one, “Our hover didn’t just drop, it disappeared.”

“Bah! Forget it,” Not-Ignis muttered.

“So that thing was called a hover?” I asked curiously. Two sets of eyes snapped over to focus on me and I shrunk back a little. “It was really cool. How difficult is it to… fly? Do you fly it? Or drive it? You said something about it not ‘heeding’ you before, is it alive?” My questions were starting to come a mile a minute before Vaan slapped a hand over my mouth.

“Excuse her, she must have hit her head too hard. She knows what a hover is, obviously.” He elbowed me in the ribs and I froze for a second before reaching up to pry his hand away from my face.

“Oh,” I laughed awkwardly. “Yeah. Duh. A hover. Silly me, asking questions I know the answers to.” I turned to look at Vaan, who gave a single nod. He would answer my questions just as soon as we were away from people who didn’t know where I came from.

“Even if we could fly,” Not-Ignis continued, still giving me a strange look, “The  _ Ifrit’s _ playing with fire—” I held back a snort, again thinking of Spira and Eos’ Ifrits. Two very different variations of the same being. “—and I’d rather not get burned. We’ll go the old-fashioned way.”

Fran looked like she was less than thrilled about this turn of events and I looked over as Vaan stood up, staring at the Viera.

“Not many Viera where you come from, thief?” Not-Ignis asked in a rather snide tone.

“It’s  _ Vaan,” _ he emphasized his name like he had all those weeks ago when I showed up in the desert and I smiled as he apologized to Fran for staring.

“And what about you,” I heard Not-Ignis ask and turned to find him staring at me. “You seemed surprised to see a Viera.”

I cleared my throat awkwardly before Vaan covered for me. “She’s been pretty sheltered for most of her life. I don’t think she even knew that Viera existed.”

Truthfully, it wasn’t exactly a lie. Viera certainly didn’t exist in my world. At the same time, however, I knew about Fran because of her minor background appearances in Brick. I had also played a Viera in  _ Final Fantasy XIV, _ so I knew they were a thing. I had just… forgotten that they were from  _ this _ world originally. Not that Vaan knew that.

“Well,” Not-Ignis leaned forward with his elbows on his knees as he spoke. “Fran is special, in that she’d deign to partner with a hume.”

Fran turned to look at him and I barely caught a hint of humor in her eyes. “Oh? Like a sky pirate that chooses to steal through the sewers?”

I coughed out a laugh as Vaan instantly lost his mind.

“Pirates?” I could hear the excitement in his voice and it took all I had to muffle the rest of my laughter. “You’re sky pirates? So you have an airship?”

“It’s Balthier.” Said man cut Vaan off, finally introducing himself and standing up. I breathed a sigh of relief. Brick’s author had mostly referred to him by the very appropriate nickname I had hijacked until he introduced himself, so I’d been having a hard time remembering his actual name.

“Listen thief—Vaan,” he started in exasperation, “If you ever want to see your home again, you do exactly as I say.” He turned to me and I could see the moment he realized I hadn’t said my name. I looked up at him from where I still sat on the ground with a smirk.

“So, do you throw  _ every _ girl you meet off a palace wall before you even learn their name, or am I just special?” Balthier blinked at me a couple times before Vaan interjected with my name, turning to glare at me.

“Really. What’s gotten into you?” He scolded me and I grinned.

“I’ll tell you when you’re older, Kid.” I caught Balthier’s smirk as Vaan groaned.

“I’m beginning to wish I’d left you in the desert where I found you,” he complained at me, both of us missing the surprise that flashed across Balthier’s face. I smiled and reached up to take the hand that Balthier offered. As he pulled me off the floor he pulled a little too hard and I fell into his chest.

It was almost enough distraction for me to miss his hand slipping into the pocket of my jacket. Two could play at that game. I squeezed his hand that was still holding mine before stepping back with a smirk.

“Aww, are you missing something?” I cooed at him before looking to Vaan, who was grinning. He flashed the magicite at Balthier before tucking it away again.

“How the devil did you—” Balthier cut himself off as he looked back to me to see me holding his coin pouch. “Give that back!” He reached forward and I pulled my hand back, dancing out of the way.

“Ah, ah, ah,” I said with a sly grin, “This is what you get for trying to pickpocket me.”

Balthier glared at me and I tossed his pouch back, still grinning. “Hope you learned your lesson, because next time you’re not getting it back,” I told him sweetly as I sauntered over to Vaan.

“Myself, Fran, and you two. We’re working together now,” Balthier told us. His tone told me he was already regretting this decision, though I was sure Vaan had missed that. Vaan glared at him and put his hand protectively over the magicite.

“Don’t even think you’re getting this,” he warned.

“The thought never crossed my mind,” Balthier sighed and I had to fight back a smirk.

“Sure, it didn’t,” I said. “You totally didn’t just try to pick-pocket me to get your hands on it, after all.” Balthier cleared his throat and looked away.

“Enough chatter,” I said, surprising our two new additions. Vaan was used to me getting bossy by now so he just stood next to me with a bored look on his face. “We need to get the fuck out of here before the Imperials decide to check the waterway for any… whoever they were. Vaan, you take the lead. Balthier, Fran, what weapons do you use?”

“A gun,” Balthier said, looking at me like he’d never expected me to take charge. I nodded and looked at Fran.

“I am an archer,” Fran told me with her strangely lilting voice.

“Tch. So we’ve got two ranged and two melee,” I muttered to myself staring at the ground as I thought. I had wanted to keep Balthier and Fran between Vaan and I so we could keep an eye on them, but it wouldn’t make sense to have a melee user positioned behind two ranged attackers. I looked up and locked eyes with Balthier.

“Alright, Vaan will take the lead, followed by me since we both use melee. You and Fran can watch our backs, but I swear on whatever god you believe in that if you double-cross us I will haunt both of you until you die.” Balthier scoffed and I raised an eyebrow.

“Something funny, Not-Ignis?”

“Okay, one; what is with that name,” Balthier scowled at me and I grinned back.

“Inside joke,” I told him. “Now what’s the other thing?”

“What good will haunting us do?” He looked skeptical and I put on my best innocent smile.

“Just wait until you can’t find your hair gel because my ghost moved it. Or everything in your bedroom gets moved two inches to the left,” I turned and motioned for Vaan to start walking. “Then you’ll understand what good haunting you would do.”

I followed Vaan down the set of stairs and onto the floor of one of the passageways down here that was covered in water. Muttering to myself about wet shoes and how the hell Fran could walk in those spikes she called high heels, we set off to find a way out of the sewers.

Almost immediately we found a couple dead bodies. Balthier knelt to examine them and I tried to look anywhere else. It’s not like I’d seen many dead bodies on Earth, and the only things I’d killed since arriving on Ivalice were rats, steelings, and the rogue tomato.

To think that just that morning I had been killing rats in Vaan’s training ground and now I was trying to escape the palace.

“Insurgents,” Balthier said, standing up. “Most like they thought to take advantage of a lax watch at the palace while the fete’s on to feed the good consul a length of steel for his supper.”

I scoffed. “Yeah, good luck with that. Vayne’s not stupid enough to throw a party with no security, and even if he was; random rebels who probably have more experience with peddling wares than holding a sword wouldn’t be able to take him down. I don’t care how many there are.”

“You speak like you know him,” Balthier looked interested and Vaan was scowling at me. The look he was giving me clearly said “I’m not getting you out of this one.” I cleared my throat and scratched the back of my head.

“Not exactly,” I said, “It’s a long story, but to answer your question, no. I don’t know him. Right now that’s all you need to know.”

Fran sniffed and looked at Balthier. “The Mist swirls strangely around this one. As if she is not a part of it, yet can still wield it.”

“Wield it?” I echoed, trying to remember if Brick had mentioned anything about “Mist” when the main character was talking to Vayne. I couldn’t think of anything and I growled in frustration.

_ ‘You never know, Fran could be a demi-god like in  _ Percy Jackson’

_ ‘Hah! Yeah, I’m sure that’s exactly what Mist is in this world. A magical substance used by the gods to ensure that mortals don’t see what they’re not meant to.’ _

“What the hell are you talking about? What is Mist?” I finally asked, giving up the pretense that I knew anything about this world. Vaan’s eyes got wide and he shook his head slightly, trying to get me to shut up. I ignored him. If I was right, then it wouldn’t matter because Fran and Balthier wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon. They’d find out my secret eventually.

They both looked at me in shock.

“What do you mean what are we talking about?” Balthier questioned, “Everyone knows what Mist is.”

“Well I don’t,” I snapped. “And I’ve never heard of or seen a ‘hover’ before either! I’m not from this world, so please just tell me what the hell Mist is?”

“Mist,” Fran spoke up, “Is the life energy of everything in this world. It is also the source of magicks. That you are from a different world makes sense with the way the Mist reacts to you. It treats you as foreign, as if you do not belong.”

I huffed a humorless laugh and looked at Vaan. “A cosmic mistake that has yet to be corrected,” I muttered.

“However,” she continued, “It also appears to be waiting for something. But you are no magic user, so I do not know what it could be waiting for.”

“Neither do I. I guess let’s just continue on, theories won’t help us escape these sewers.”

I fell into step behind Vaan who led us into what looked like the main area of the waterway. I scowled at the channel of water rushing past and stayed close to the wall.

“Scared of water?” Bathier asked conversationally. I pouted as Vaan drew the attention of a rat and a steeling as he led us up some stairs. I drew my sword and slashed at the steeling while everyone else targeted the rat.

“I’m not scared of it,” I said, swinging my sword again and raising my voice to be heard over the echo of his gun. “I just have a healthy respect for it.”

I heard Vaan bark a laugh. “Yeah, sure. Just wait until we have to cross one of those metal grates,” he teased me as I took a final swipe at the steeling and it died. I turned to glare at him while I sheathed my sword.

“You’re an ass,” I hissed at him, sulking up the rest of the stairs. He grinned at me.

“Probably,” he agreed. “Oh, look!” I looked to where he was pointing ahead of us and felt my face pale. Another stupid grate.

“But whyyyyyyyyyyyyy,” I whined at him. “There was a bridge literally around the corner! Why couldn’t they build another one over here?!” Vaan laughed as we were set upon by another rat/steeling combo. I drew my dagger and ran for the rat, dropping to a knee and sliding. Balthier and Fran took down the steeling in a few shots and Vaan landed a solid hit to the rat’s side, finishing it off. I slid my dagger back into its sheath and glared as Vaan walked across the grate we were next to without a care in the world.

Fran went next, seeing that I wasn’t going to move. How she managed to get across without getting her heel spikes caught in any of the holes I wasn’t sure, but I was envious.

I expected Balthier to go ahead and wait for me like the others, so I was surprised when I felt a warm hand put pressure on my lower back. I looked over to see Balthier looking down at me, hazel eyes sparkling.

“What kind of leading man would just stand by and leave a lady to face her fears alone?”

I pursed my lips and sent a glare toward Vaan, ignoring my pounding heart. “Not a very good one,” I replied. Balthier chuckled.

“Exactly. Come, I shall accompany you and make sure you don’t fall.”

Crossing this grate was much less stressful for me than the ones Vaan and I had crossed on our way into the palace. Probably because I wasn’t alone. One of my hands was twisted in the fabric of Balthier’s shirt, reminding me there was someone with me. Once on the other side I let go and stepped away to get close to the wall again. Vaan chuckled.

“Wow, I almost couldn’t see the thinly-veiled terror this time! I think you’re getting used to the grates.”

“Vaan,” I growled, “don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m going to murder you in your sleep.”

He laughed again and turned to walk away. “Never mind, there it is.”

As we started moving again I noticed that Balthier seemed to keep himself between me and the edge of the walkway as much as he could. During fights he tended to stay back, but as soon as we killed whatever was attacking he would almost immediately wind up next to me again.

Every grate we had to cross was handled like the first one, Vaan and Fran would go over, then Balthier would walk across with me.

We ran into a humongous frog monster, which I figured was this world’s “Gigantoad.” When I saw it I drew both my weapons, holding my dagger in a reverse grip.

“Oh, you’re finally going to show me how that works?” Vaan quipped. I stuck my tongue out at him.

“It’s bigger than a rat, at least.” I replied, dashing forward and swinging my sword in an upward strike. I followed the slash with another from my dagger in the same direction as my sword lifted away, my momentum pulling me in range for the shorter blade to hit home. I dodged toward the wall, ever mindful of the water rushing past me a few feet away, and narrowly avoided getting hit by its tongue.

A noise of disgust slipped out and I slashed with my sword again.

“That was almost my jacket you nasty, overgrown, freak-of-nature!” I snarled as I flipped my dagger around and stabbed upward under its chin. I yanked my weapon free just as it collapsed to the ground, dead. I flicked the blood off both my blades and looked at Vaan with a raised eyebrow as he stared at me.

“You gonna question me about dual-wielding again? Or just trust me when I say something works.”

He pursed his lips before walking past me, muttering “I think I’m just gonna trust you.”

I smiled happily, sheathing my blades and falling into step behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to clarify a point; Reader's knowledge of the events in Brick ends after chapter 56. Anything that happens from chapter 57 onward, my reader character has no knowledge of. Mist isn't mentioned in Brick until approximately chapter 58.
> 
> She is also unfamiliar with anything past chapter 4 of Vayne's PoV fic written by greenblanketbythefire. Nothing significant is mentioned in relation to Mist in that until the end of chapter 5.


	5. Of Moldy Puddings and Encountering Rapidash

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Still more Waterways...

There were more Gigantoads and Steelings, and yet another grate to cross, but finally we went up an incline that led to an open room. There were actual bridges over the canals in here, so I felt a little safer in that regard—though there was still a strange knot of anxiety in my stomach when crossing those too. I brushed it off as a side effect of the rushing water.

As we went down a set of stairs we heard a feminine grunt and I turned to the other side of the open area we’d just descended to to watch as a blonde girl cut an Imperial soldier down, before turning to the rest that were chasing her.

“Who would be next?” Her voice was strong and sure, even though she was heavily outnumbered and I had to give her props for her bravery.

“Close ranks! Bring her down!” One of the soldiers ordered.

Vaan rushed past me.

“Jump down,” I heard him call, “Hurry!”

As she jumped I realized her sword and shield were… fairly ornate, and I suddenly got a sinking feeling about who this girl could be. Vaan caught her easily in a bridal carry and my stomach did a flip as I saw her short, light-blonde hair.

_ ‘Surely they didn’t meet in a sewer,’ _ my mind whispered.

_ ‘I have a feeling that you’re going to be surprised by the answer to that,’ _ I thought back.

“She’s not alone!” One of the soldiers yelled.

“Our ranks grow by the hour,” Fran said as she approached the two, Vaan setting the girl on her feet.

“And our troubles with them,” Balthier added, following Fran.

“Oh, you have no idea,” I muttered under my breath, standing back to let the others deal with the soldiers who had jumped down to chase the new girl. I may be perfectly fine killing monsters and rats, but these were people under that armor.

Living breathing humans.

Sure, they were perfectly willing to kill us, but that didn’t mean I was willing to do the same to them.

“What are you doing back there,” Vaan yelled at me.

“Observing!” I yelled back.

“Well why don’t you come  _ help?” _ He asked, his voice agitated.

“Yeah, I’mma pass on this one,” I called back. “Human targets don’t really do it for me, ya know?”

He blocked an Imperial sword with his shield and looked over his shoulder at me incredulously, “What the hell do you mean?! They’ll kill you with no remorse if you give them the chance!” He screamed at me.

“Then don’t give them the chance,” I yelled back.

“You seemed to have no problem threatening Fran and myself,” Balthier called over to me.

“You ever heard of a bluff, Sweetheart?” I called back with a smirk. I watched the new girl closely. Her shorts were pink, but her top was white with gold trim and metal accents. She swung hard at the last soldier standing, sending him to the ground.

When all of the enemies were dealt with I approached the rest of the group.

Vaan asked if the new girl was alright and she turned to thank him. I stayed back between Balthier and Fran with my arms crossed. Her clothes were fancier than most of what I’d seen in the time I had been in this world, and the collar of her strangely designed top had jewels of some sort embedded in it.

“Um, I’m Vaan,” he introduced. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Balthier turn around to start walking away. If this girl was who I thought she was, I was sorely tempted to join him. Vaan turned around to start introducing the rest of us.

“And this is Balthier and—Hey!” His introductions cut off when he realized Balthier was leaving. I turned to see Balthier turn back around, frowning as Vaan asked the girl for her name.

“Amalia,” she said, and I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. Apparently I was mistaken.

“Thank the gods,” I muttered. Fran gave me a curious look, but stayed silent.

_ ‘Told you he wouldn’t have met a princess in a sewer.’ _

_ ‘Hey, nobody asked for an I-told-you-so.’ _

“Amalia, huh? Nice to meetcha,” Vaan said. I walked up and poked him in the ribs as she turned around to look toward the other side of the waterway channel we were next to.

_ “Stop flirting,” _ I mouthed when he glared at me.

“There were others with me,” Amalia said, not acknowledging what Vaan had said. I frowned slightly. It seemed a little rude not to say “nice to meet you too” or even a “likewise” to someone who risked their ass to save yours.

“I’m sorry,” Fran told her.

The girl shook her head. “No…”

Suddenly Vaan’s pocket started glowing. He reached in and pulled the magicite out, staring at it in wonder.

“Huh?” We spoke at the same time and shared a glance. Balthier walked up next to Vaan.

“Oh, now isn’t that impressive,” he said.

“Don’t get any ideas, I said it’s mine,” Vaan glared at him. I placed myself between them to stave off anymore comments, but it didn’t work.

“I’m afraid the jury’s still out on that one,” Balthier quipped. I grinned at him.

“I wouldn’t be so sure if I were you. You can’t even pick-pocket me, and I learned from Vaan.” Anything else we might have said was cut off by Amalia.

“You stole that?” I narrowed my eyes at the hint of disapproval in her voice. Vaan may have taught me to pick pockets, but reading people was a skill I had developed long before I ended up on Ivalice. Vaan missed what I’d picked up on, thinking she was impressed, and smiled.

“Yeah!”

“Have you finished?” Fran cut in. “When the guards don’t report in, they’ll come looking for us.”

Balthier sighed. “If they aren’t already.”

“You should come with us,” Vaan told Amalia. “Better than being by yourself.”

I watched her carefully, seeing the slight downward tilt at the corners of her mouth.

She huffed and walked past us all, back straight and head held high. “Very well.”

“What’s wrong with her?” Vaan asked. I rolled my eyes, following after Amalia reluctantly. Something about her wasn’t sitting right with me.

“You have a lot to learn before we even get started on your thievery,” I heard Balthier tell him from behind me. I smirked and called back over my shoulder, “Says the man who was pick-pocketed by his own mark!” I heard him groan behind me and Vaan’s corresponding laugh as he jogged to catch up with me.

Amalia was waiting at the entrance to a hallway leading away from the chamber of the waterway we were in and she crossed her arms at our approach, looking far too haughty for a girl who was just slinking through sewers trying to escape the Imperials after a failed assassination.

“The situation requires I accept such help as I find, though it be from thieves,” she told us. Vaan apparently caught me bristling at the disgusted tone she took out of the corner of his eye and nudged me softly. One more holier-than-thou remark and I was going to lay into her.

“I shall accompany you until I find my companions, no longer.”

“Let’s think of her as a guest then,” Balthier said, coming to stand next to me. “Unlike Fran or myself, our guest won’t be taking orders from anyone anytime soon. And she’ll leave when she pleases.”

“Fine by me,” I growled, stepping around her and stalking down the hallway. The more she spoke the more I was beginning to dislike her, and she wasn’t even the person I had been most concerned about meeting in Ivalice.

I climbed a set of stairs, still muttering to myself, when the hall opened up into a humongous room with waterfalls on the other side of what I assumed to be a bottomless pit.

“—gets the stick out of her ass, maybe she’ll be more agreeable. No one could possibly be as stuck up as  _ her _ though, so maybe there’s hope for the new girl yet.” I shut up and took in the room in front of me.

_ ‘Well, if this isn’t a boss battle room then it missed a damn good opportunity.’ _

_ ‘Could be a mini-boss instead?’ _ I supplied, glancing around. Vaan came up behind me.

“What’s up, why’d you stop?” He asked quietly, coming to a stop next to me.

“I don’t like this room. Something’s off,” I said vaguely. Amalia shouldered past me.

“Quit being a baby and let’s go before the Imperials catch up with us,” she told me. My eyes narrowed.

“Well excuuuuuuuuse me, Princess!” I snarled at her back. When in doubt, quote Link. The effect was instant. I saw her freeze for just a moment before she turned back to me, shoulders tense.

“What did you just call me?” There was fury in her voice, but also a tinge of… was it worry?

_ ‘Well this is an interesting turn of events’ _

“You don’t like to be called Princess? Then quit acting like a royal bitch and give people common fucking courtesy instead of looking down your nose at them for the lengths they have to go to in order to  _ survive,” _ I snapped. She didn’t need to know that we  _ could have _ survived without the magicite in Vaan’s pocket.

She opened her mouth to say something, but I cut her off and stepped forward, my voice echoing off the walls the louder I got. “Vaan  _ saved your ass. _ He didn’t fucking have to. He could have stood there and watched as those Imperials either captured or killed you. He didn’t. He gave you a way out that you didn’t fucking have, and how do you repay him? You judge him for trying to  _ live? _ For trying to get some money to feed himself and his brother and sisters instead of letting them fucking starve?”

She had the decency to look at least a little ashamed. A hand gripped my shoulder, pulling me back and I snapped my mouth shut before I could say anything else. The echo of my voice faded into the roar of the waterfalls as we all stood there in silence for a moment. Before anyone could respond to my outburst, however, something behind Amalia caught my attention.

“The fuck is that?” I asked, one hand reaching for my sword and the other gripping my dagger. Three brown… gelatin things were congregating next to the pit that the waterfalls were emptying into.

_ ‘Flans,’ _ my mind piped up helpfully. I knew about flans from both  _ Final Fantasy X _ and  _ XV, _ so I recognized them, but seeing them in real life…they were pretty disgusting. Like a pissed off pile of sentient moldy pudding.

_ ‘Do you think they’re pissed off because they’re sentient pudding, or because they’re moldy?’ _

I heard a loud burbling sound from above and I looked up to see a Flan that was bigger than the other three by quite a bit hanging from the ceiling above us.

_ ‘Now is really not the time!’ _

The unreasonably large Flan on the ceiling slowly turned its eyes towards us.

“Ohhhhhhhh, fffffuck,” I hissed, grabbing Vaan’s arm and dragging him to the left. “MOVE!” I shouted at the rest of our group just as the Flan decided to drop to the floor. It was easily seven feet tall.

I took in the sight before me, releasing Vaan to unsheathe my blades.

_ ‘So, mini-boss it is.’ _

_ ‘THERE IS NOTHING MINI ABOUT THIS BOSS, DO YOU SEE THE SIZE OF THAT THING?!’ _ I thought frantically at myself.

I knew that most Flans were weak to magic, but we were sorely lacking in magic users at the moment.

_ “The Mist swirls strangely…” _ Fran’s voice echoed through my mind. What had she said?

_ “…not a part of it, yet can still wield it.” _

_ ‘But HOW?!’ _ I thought frantically. I targeted one of the smaller Flans and dashed forward, slashing with my sword as soon as I got close. As soon as my sword touched its body the swing slowed considerably and I grit my teeth as I pulled my blade free of its goopy body.

“Gods, they even  _ smell _ moldy,” I complained as I backtracked out of the way of three of the Flans spinning simultaneously, trying to hit us with… pudding tendrils? Honestly I wasn’t sure  _ what _ that attack was, I just knew that I wanted no part of it. I looked down at my sword, relieved to find that no residue from the Flan had stayed on the blade. I thanked whatever god was listening as I sheathed my sword and switched my dagger to my main hand.

I lost too much control of my sword when I tried to use it, so hopefully the increased control of a shorter blade would help.

“Don’t tell me you’re going to sit this one out too,” Vaan yelled at me. I glared, not that he could pay attention to it.

“I’m weighing our options, genius!”

“We don’t  _ have _ any options,” he called back.

I darted back in to attack the Flan again and was marginally more successful this time. My dagger sunk through the sticky goo and I put all my weight behind the swing I’d taken so that it didn’t get stuck halfway through again. Another few swings like that from myself and Vaan and the Flan melted to the floor.

He moved to help Amalia with her runt and I turned to find Balthier and Fran facing the other smaller Flan. All of us seemed to silently agree that the bigger Flan needed to be dealt with after the others. I ran past Balthier to attack the Flan he and Fran were fighting.

I heard him shout a warning and saw the Flan begin to spin. My momentum was carrying me too fast and I knew I wouldn’t be able to dodge to either side, so I took a chance and prayed that nothing got on my jacket that couldn’t be cleaned off.

I flipped my dagger around to a reverse grip and dropped to both knees, sliding rather painfully across the bumpy floor and leaning back like I was trying to win a limbo contest. It was harder than the movies made it look, and one of the pudding tendrils caught me in the chest and knocked the wind out of me, but I stabbed my dagger to the side just as I heard a shot echo out and saw an arrow embed itself in the Flan’s face. It melted to the floor and I rolled over onto my hands and knees, coughing and gasping for breath.

“That—” I choked out as Balthier put a hand on my elbow to help me stand. “—fucking hurt.”

Fran was shooting arrows at the Flan that Amalia and Vaan were attacking and, soon, it was down too. As a group, we all turned to face the monster Flan we’d been avoiding. It was glaring at us like we’d just killed it’s children.

_ ‘Hell, maybe we did.’ _

_ ‘Can Flans even have children?’ _

_ ‘Hmm. Maybe they reproduce through binary fission, like an amoeba?’ _

_ ‘HOW THE FUCK DO YOU REMEMBER THIS RANDOM SHIT?!’ _

_ ‘It’s a talent.’ _

“Better get ready,” Balthier unknowingly interrupted my internal conversation. “And try not to get hit like that again. I’m not sure you could take another of those.”

“Neither am I,” I wheezed as I reluctantly started to approach the momma Flan.

Everyone readied themselves and I wondered again how exactly magic worked in this world.

“Sorry we killed your children,” I called to the Flan, earning bewildered looks from everyone but Vaan who was entirely too used to my shenanigans by now. He just sighed. “But you see, they were kinda disgusting!” This seemed to agitate the Flan more. “And also in our way,” I added as an afterthought. The Flan let out an angry burble—if a burble could sound angry—and slid its way across the floor toward us.

_ ‘Huh, it even moves like an amoeba. Maybe you’re not too far off base with the whole binary fission theory.’ _

_ ‘You should probably pay attention.’ _

“Don’t worry!” I said, slowly circling it. It seemed to be focused on me, probably because I was the only one stupid enough to taunt it with the deaths of its children, so I tried to position its back to the rest of the group and switched my dagger back to my off-hand in a standard grip so I could draw my sword again. “You won’t miss them for long, because we’re about to send you after them!”

The flan attacked then, trying to slam a tendril down on top of me. My arms came up and my blades crossed over my head. As soon as the tendril made contact I slashed both blades away from each other, slicing the tendril off and sidestepping it as it fell. I heard gunshots echoing and Vaan and Amalia’s grunts as they attacked, but I continued to focus on the giant angry pudding in front of me.

It wasn’t very smart, in all honesty. It kept trying to smash me with pudding tendrils even though every attempt ended like the first one had. Finally I noticed it wind up to spin and as soon as it started the attack I dropped to the floor, pressing myself as flat as I could on my back. As soon as it stopped spinning I got back to my feet with just enough time to dodge another tendril slamming down where I was just standing.

“Oh no, did I make you angry?” I called up to it with a grin. “I’m so sorry! Let me make you some dessert to make up for it! How does pudding sound?”

The next tendril came down much faster and I barely got my blades up in time to slice it off. Before the Flan could make another attack it looked like it had something akin to a seizure, shaking and bubbling and steaming and eventually melting to the floor. I looked over in surprise as Vaan crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at me. I twirled my blades, swinging Flan gunk off them before sliding them into their sheathes with a completely unrepentant grin.

“Guys, I don’t think that moldy pudding liked me very much,” I told them, trying to hold back laughter.

“And you tell me that  _ I’m _ unreasonably reckless,” Vaan grumbled, turning away.

“What were you thinking, taunting it like that?!” Amalia yelled at me and I raised an eyebrow at her.

“Oh? Showing concern for common thieves now? I’m impressed you have that much heart, Princess.”

Her face fell into a glare. “Don’t call me that. I’m not the princess. She’s dead.”

“Mm,” I hummed in a bored tone. “Could have fooled me, Little Miss High-and-Mighty.” I fell into step behind Vaan, not sparing another glance to our guest. Balthier came up beside me.

“You really should be more careful,” he told me in a hushed tone as we descended another set of stairs. I smiled.

“Aww, are you worried about me, Not-Ignis?” I teased gently.

“I’d rather not see a companion die because of recklessness,” he chastised me. I laughed softly.

“Trust me, if I die in this world it won’t be because of recklessness,” I whispered back to him as we walked up another set of stairs to approach a bridge.

_ ‘No if we die in this world, it’ll be because of all these goddamned stairs.’ _

_ ‘I concur.’ _

He didn’t seem to know what to make of what I’d said, so I just reached out to pat his arm before pulling out my sword. Vaan had angered some kind of yellow creature with lacy wings, freakishly long feet, and a tail.

As we started to fight it two more showed up, along with two long, semi-transparent creatures that disappeared and reappeared randomly throughout the fight. They were annoying to fight. I couldn’t exactly ask what they were though, since Amalia was still with us.

We made our way through the Waterway with sparse conversation and plenty of monsters. The first grate we came to had me gritting my teeth until I felt Balthier’s hand on my lower back and I instantly relaxed. Amalia watched us with nothing more than a raised eyebrow. Once we were across she spoke.

“So you’ll taunt a giant Flan without batting an eye and make jokes about it afterward, but crossing running water scares you?” I sent her a withering glare as we went down yet another set of stairs.

“I’m not afraid, I have a healthy respect. There’s a difference.”

“Okay,” she said, wisely staying quiet after that.

We crossed another couple grates and came into a semi-circle shaped room that looked like it had water flow controls or something in the center and what looked like paths going to various other sections of the waterway on the rounded part of the room. There was a set of stupidly large metal doors in the opposite wall.

_ ‘Boss fight?’ _

_ ‘Probably.’ _

We made it to the center of the platform and I looked around expectantly.

“Looking for something?” Balthier leaned over to whisper in my ear as I looked up at the ceiling.

“Just my long lost potential,” I quipped lightly as Vaan pushed the doors open.

_ ‘Maybe not…’ _

I followed him through the doors with the rest of our group close behind. This new room had stairs on either side leading down to a slightly lowered floor in the center of the room. On the opposite side of the room from the door we came through was a set of stairs that looked suspiciously like a way out of this hellhole.

As we came to the middle of the lowered floor, fog started rolling down the stairs.

“Ohhhhhhh, that’s not ominous at all,” I said quietly, taking a step back. I turned to the door we’d come through only to see it was shut. Chills ran up my spine and I moved to press my back against Vaan’s.

_ ‘Looks like we found that boss fight…’ _

_ ‘Ya think?’ _

“Vaaaaaaaan,” I drawled slowly.

“What?”

“If we make it out of this alive, I’m going to halfway smother you in your sleep.”

“You mean you’re going to kill me,” he deadpanned.

“Only a little!”

“How exactly do you kill someone ‘only a little’?” He asked as he looked around.

“Very carefully.”

I looked up to see a floating ball of fire fly toward us, looping around a couple times before it hovered in the air between us and the exit.

_ ‘Will-o-Wisp?’ _

_ ‘Doubtful.’ _

As if in answer, the orb transformed into a horse that looked like it was made of fire, with six fiery tentacles. I could feel my eyes get huge and I nudged Vaan with my elbow.

_ “Fire pony!” _ I hissed at him, my eyes staying locked on the beast in front of me as it pranced around and whinnied. It had fire around its hooves and I so badly wanted to call it a Rapidash, but Amalia was still with us and that would only raise more questions about me than my choice in weapons probably already did.

I pulled my sword and dagger free, analyzing the horse as it lunged and cast fire at us. I ran forward and started with the same move I had used on the first Gigantoad we’d encountered. I slashed upwards with my sword and the momentum carried me in range to follow up with my dagger in the same direction.

I danced backwards out of the way of its hooves and got a welcome breath of cooler air. The flames that made up the horse's body and its tentacles were heating the air around it and making it hard to breathe the closer I got to it.

I watched it buck around in a circle, nearly kicking Vaan in the chest before it settled down and stamped a hoof angrily.

“What’s it doing?” I asked no one in particular.

Before anyone could answer, the tentacles started waving around like crazy and multiple fireballs manifested in the air around the horse. It lifted up on its hind legs to kick at the air and the fireballs erupted into columns of flame that choked the air.

_ ‘Oh fuck this.’ _

I ran forward as soon as the fires died down and hacked at the tentacles waving in the air. I saw Vaan out of the corner of my eye narrowly avoid getting stepped on and Amalia cast a heal on herself before taking another swing. I heard Balthier’s gun echoing through the room and arrows narrowly missed me to bury themselves in the fiery flank of the horse before being incinerated.

It looked like it was about to start bucking again and in a fit of sheer frustration I slammed my blades back into their sheathes with a snarl and, without thinking, thrust my main hand forward in front of me with my fingers splayed. Immediately I felt something stir in the air around me, brushing against my skin before rushing toward the horse.

A small sphere of water formed around the horses flaming torso and I froze in shock as the horse neighed in what I assumed to be pain. A grin formed on my face.

_ “Do you believe in maaaagic,” _ I asked the horse with a laugh.

I pulled my sword back out and swung it down hard, starting to sing the song I’d just gotten stuck in my head.

_ “In a young girl’s heart? How the music can free her, whenever it starts?” _

I spun and slashed with my sword again, then lifted my free hand and thrust it again. I felt the same strange energy as before lift and rush forward at my command.

_ “And it’s magic, if the music is groovy,” _ I sang out as another sphere of water formed. The water sphere evaporated and I twirled my sword before stabbing it forward. I felt the energy around me shift again and it seemed to dance along my blade as it sunk into the side of the horse.

_ “It makes you feel happy like an old-time movie,” _ I yanked my sword free and the fire pony wobbled on its legs for a moment like a new-born colt before lifting up to kick at the air with its front hooves again. I continued humming as it turned back into the fiery orb it had been originally and flew off, disappearing into the depths of the waterway.

I sheathed my sword and turned with a grin. My eyes caught something just beyond our group and my smile fell almost immediately.

_ “Dammit,” _ I hissed under my breath, scowling as I raised my hands slowly and put them behind my head, to the confusion of the others.

That is until what caught my attention made itself known.

“Stand where you are!”

The others turned quickly to see a line of Imperial soldiers with guns trained on us.

My stomach dropped to the floor as Vayne walked forward to look us over. I knew it would be pointless to try to hide my face, my jacket was far too unique for me to be mistaken for anyone else. So instead of ducking my head and trying to hide behind my hair like I desperately wanted to, I raised my chin higher and pulled my shoulders straight.

If there was one thing I knew for certain, it was that showing fear would earn me no points with this Vayne. Even if I was in the Brick universe, it was clear he hadn’t been taken to Dissidia NT yet; I knew that much just from his lack of a reaction to me quoting the main character.

Amalia looked like she wanted to rush forward and I saw Balthier grab her arm to pull her back. He said something to her, but I couldn’t quite catch it so I looked back to Vayne. He didn’t look happy.

Imperial soldiers came down the stairs behind us to take us into custody and I let them push me around. As they drug us up the stairs into Lowtown I stayed silent, staring ahead and trying to think of any way out of this mess that I could.

We stood under Imperial guard while curious Dalmascans whispered to each other about who we were and what we’d done. I stared at a spot on the opposite wall, face blank and breathing steady; no more scowl to be seen.

“They think me some common thief,” I heard Amalia hiss, disbelief clear in her voice.

“Better than a common assassin,” Balthier assured her. I continued to stare blankly ahead. Let Balthier deal with her whining, there had to be some way out.

An Imperial pushed the blonde girl forward.

“These people have done nothing! Release them,” she commanded. I stopped staring at the wall to raise an eyebrow in her direction.

“What are you doing?” Vaan hissed.

“They’re not going to believe you, Amalia,” I finally broke my silence in a tired voice. “They’ve already decided that we’re guilty. All that’s left is for Lord Solidor to decide what he’s going to do with us.”

The man himself glanced over at me.

“Oh?” His voice commanded attention and my eyes snapped to meet his. “You call me Lord, yet you conspire with insurgents.”

“Rebels!” Amalia  interrupted corrected.

I smirked. “I’m not a rebel, I’m still just an outlier. Rebel is a subjective term, you see.” To anyone else, Vayne probably looked calm. I’d read enough Brick to know that if I didn’t get to my point soon I was more than likely going to get intimately acquainted with Sephira. I kept talking. “The only thing I’m rebelling against is social norms. You’re anything but a social  _ norm.” _ I heard a few gasps, the most prominent coming from Amalia. Vaan was glaring hard at me.

“And  _ how, _ pray tell, are you rebelling against these ‘social norms’?” Vayne’s tone was positively  _ icy _ and lesser (read: smarter) women would have shrunk back. I stayed where I was and met his gaze steadily and put on my most innocent smile.

“I’m a thief,” I told him with complete confidence and a shoulder shrug. I heard Vaan choke on air, and caught Balthier hanging his head in my peripheral vision. “Sort of. Again, it’s a subjective term. It really depends on what you define as a thief—”

“Enough,” Vayne snapped at me. “Honestly, I regret even asking.”

I nodded in understanding. “Most people do regret asking me questions.”

Balthier heaved a long, heavy sigh as Vayne turned and walked away. “I thought you told me that if you died it wouldn’t be because of recklessness?”

“Nope,” I popped the ‘p’ with a grin and lifted my hands to shoot him finger-guns. “It will most definitely be because I couldn’t keep my mouth shut, and that has nothing to do with my recklessness.”

_ “Wait!” _ I heard a familiar voice behind me and whirled to see Penelo being held back by the Imperials.

“They didn’t know what they were doing! You have to let them go!”

“Penelo!” Vaan and I called out at the same time, I shook my head softly when she looked at me.

“Sorry, that dinner’ll have to wait,” I heard Vaan say from behind me and I had the sudden urge to hit my head against a wall.

_ ‘Of all the things he could say to her…’ _

“That’s enough!” I heard one of the Imperials bark and turned in time to see him cuff Vaan over the back of the head. As I darted forward to catch him, letting him fall over my back, I heard Penelo cry out. I winced and glanced over my shoulder to see Balthier standing in front of her, saying something quietly.

I grunted softly as I held the majority of Vaan’s weight so he wouldn’t fall. It seemed he was out cold. As the Imperials started to take us away I grimaced and tried to maneuver him into a more manageable position.

“You’re lucky you’re unconscious, Kid,” I whispered through my teeth, following the Imperials to whatever transport was waiting to take us to whatever dungeon Vayne had deemed appropriate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: There was a Legend of Zelda cartoon in 1989 and Link said "Well excuse me, Princess" to Zelda /a lot/ in it.


	6. Dungeons & Pig-men

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alternate title: Dungeons & Discussions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is shorter than the others -especially the last two- but I couldn't really find a way to make it any longer without the ending being....off. I'm still not super pleased with the end of Ch2, but oh well.)
> 
> *An Ouroboros, for those who might not know, is the symbol of a snake eating its own tail.*

Our journey to Nalbina was mostly quiet; Balthier, Fran, Vaan, and myself were all locked in the hold of an airship. The Imperials had unceremoniously dumped Vaan’s unconscious body on the floor of the cell beside mine, Balthier was across from me, and Fran was in the cell next to his. Amalia was nowhere to be seen.

“You were reluctant to fight the Imperials when we were in the sewers,” Balthier said casually. “Why?”

I looked up at him from where I’d been sitting with my back to the wall, staring at the door. His arms were casually resting on the bars of his cell and his pale green eyes were alight with curiosity that I could see even from where I sat.

“Not a fan of harming other humans,” I said simply with a shrug. “Violence has never been a go-to solution for me. I’d prefer to talk my way out of problems, not kill my way into bigger ones.”

He made a sound of understanding and slowly nodded. “Does that have anything to do with where you grew up?”

He was being intentionally vague in case any Imperials were listening, but fear still shot through my veins, my eyes going wide. He took my reaction to mean yes and nodded again. “Worry not,” he said, his words having more than one meaning from the look he was suddenly giving me. “You won’t have to resort to violence if you don’t wish to as long as I’m around.”

He missed the raised eyebrow Fran sent his way, but it made me smile as I went back to staring at the door, waiting for the time when the guards would come through it to escort us to our new home.

-

The Nalbina dungeons were… interesting. I’d had an image in my mind of a dark, dank crypt with cells and guards. Like in a medieval castle.

Nalbina was nothing like that. I hadn’t seen a single guard since we were unceremoniously tossed in here on our asses, all of the prisoners were freely roaming around, and what could have been called a “cell” was just a medium-sized room with no door. The air was dry and smelled like sweat and human waste, the floor was coated in sand, and there was a crazy laughter echoing in the distance.

Balthier had immediately taken Vaan off my back—literally—and carried him into one of the “cells,” claiming it as our own. No one seemed to want to argue with him.

Now we were sitting on the floor on opposite sides of the entryway waiting for one of two things to happen; Vaan to wake up—which truthfully he should have done hours ago, why the hell was he still out cold—or Fran to find us a way out of the dungeon.

Fran had split off from us almost immediately upon our arrival. I had been worried, but Balthier told me she would be fine so I had decided to trust his judgement.

I sighed for probably the millionth time as I traced a pattern in the sand next to me, my nose wrinkled in disgust even as my fingers played with the grains.

“What’s on your mind,” Balthier asked softly. I looked up to see him staring at me, hazel eyes sharp and clear.

“Home,” I said simply.

“Ah, not to worry, I’m sure Dalmasca will still be standing when we return,” he told me, misunderstanding what I meant.

“No,” I shook my head and looked over at Vaan’s still sleeping form. “Dalmasca is Vaan’s home. I may live there now, but a city surrounded by desert could never be my home; no matter how much I’ve come to… appreciate it.”

“You’re referring to what you told us in the Waterway then? This…other planet?”

I nodded once, looking down at my fingers which had stilled, resting on the sand. “My home… it’s surrounded by forests and lakes and mountains.”

“No deserts?” Balthier seemed a little reluctant to believe such a thing. I smiled a sad smile and shook my head.

“The nearest desert is… easily a hundred miles away.” I saw Balthier tilt his head at the unfamiliar measurement and cleared my throat. “Sorry, miles are roughly equivalent to what you would call ‘malms’.”

“Ah. How do you travel it all? Are there airships?”

I chuckled softly, “Not in the sense that you’re referring to, no. And there’s no magic either. Just…science. And reason.”

“If your home has no magic then…”

“How did I Water Pulse that Rapidash? Your guess is as good as mine,” I said.

“Do you know how you came to be here?” He asked curiously.

“Well I have two guesses,” I said slowly. “The first is that I’m some sort of…divine intervention?”

“And the second,” he prompted. I grimaced.

“The second…” I trailed off. Before I could find my voice, Vaan started to stir. My attention snapped to him as he sat up holding his head.

“Ugh, where am I?” He seemed confused.

“Nalbina. Don’t worry though, we made sure to get the Presidential Suite while you got your beauty rest,” I quipped at him.

“It wasn’t beauty rest,” he protested. “You’ll never believe what… well actually,  _ you _ might. No one else would though. I was in another  _ world!” _ My gaze sharpened on him as I felt something dangerously close to hope rise in my chest.

“Another world?” I heard Balthier’s unconvinced tone echo.

“Yeah! And Vayne was there too! Along with all these other people from different worlds!”

_ ‘NT…’ _

_ ‘We… we don’t… just because he might have been in NT doesn’t mean this is the Brick Universe,’ _ I thought harshly.

“And there was this huge snake that we had to fight or it would destroy that world and then move to another,” he continued.

“Jormungandr, the World Eater,” I said, drawing an Ouroboros in the sand. Norse mythology wasn’t an area I was strong in, but I knew a couple things. Reading Brick had helped, since the author had the same focus on Norse mythology that I took towards the Greek pantheon. Plus the main character had explained the premise of the World Eater.

“Oh,” Vaan exclaimed suddenly. “There was this really weird girl there too. I don’t think I’d get along with her, since she seemed to take a liking to Vayne…” He trailed off when my head snapped up from where I’d been staring at my drawing in the sand.

“She did?” My voice cracked slightly and I felt that pesky hope rise a little higher.

“Yeah, I tried to attack him—” At Balthier’s groan he rushed to clarify, “I had to. We were all supposed to fight each other!”

I nodded. “The energy borne in battle lured the world eater to them so the warriors could band together and destroy it,” I finished for him. The shocked look he gave me would have been comical if I hadn’t been focused on the girl he’d been talking about.

“Come on, Vaan. You were saying something about a girl,” I urged.

“Oh, yeah! So when I tried to attack him she protected him, even though they were on different sides! He was summoned by Spiritus but she was summoned by the goddess Materia.”

I huffed a silent laugh at that. There was only one person I could think of who would protect Vayne, and she most definitely was not summoned by Materia. Not intentionally.

“Of course she did,” I said, leaning back with a grin. “You should never try to harm someone’s Emotional Support Consul.”

Vaan’s shocked look was back.

“WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?!” He burst out and I when I started laughing, I couldn’t stop.

_ ‘We’re not in canon…’ _

_ ‘Looks that way…’ _

A hand rested itself on my shoulder and I blinked away tears to look up and see Balthier looking down at me in what I thought might be concern.

“It doesn’t matter. What matters is what we do now,” I told them, calming myself to the occasional hysterical giggle.

“Well, I’m going to look around,” Vaan announced, stepping towards the door.

“Fran’s already looking for a way out,” I mentioned casually, going back to drawing designs in the sand.

“You mean to tell me that you’re willingly sitting in the sand waiting, instead of tearing your way out of here brick by brick to get away from it?” Vaan didn’t seem convinced.

_ ‘I think he means Brick by Boring Brick…’ _

_ ‘Pfft, definitely. He definitely means that.’ _

I shrugged.

“Pick your battles, Kid. There’s a time for tearing your way out, and there’s a time to tolerate something you dislike if it means getting out quietly. This is one of the latter.”

“Hmph. I’m still going to go explore.”

“Do try to stay out of trouble,” Balthier told him tiredly, shrugging at me. As Vaan walked out of the room Balthier eyed me.

“So tell me more about this home of yours.”

“Well,” I began with a small smile, “I never really had to worry about…fighting. I mean sure, there were weapons and soldiers and wars, but I lived in an area of the world where none of that really…touched me. My country took up an entire continent, so there were no real opportunities for it to be invaded.”

“Really? Yet you know how to wield a blade,” Balthier questioned. I huffed a laugh.

“Thank Vaan for that. When he found me on the outskirts of Rabanastre I would have been no match for a sewer rat, let alone the group of Flan we faced.”

“And still you faced those Flan without fear.”

“Oooh no, there was fear,” I said with a chuckle. “It was just hidden under all that smart-assery.” I shrugged with a little smirk, “It’s a talent of mine.”

I glanced toward the door, worried about Vaan.

I heard a sigh, then footsteps on sand, then Balthier’s hand was in front of my face.

“Come, let’s go make sure he hasn’t found trouble.”

I snorted as I took his hand and he helped me to my feet, “I have the feeling our luck isn’t that good.”

Balthier led the way out of our claimed room and I followed close behind, not wanting to be on my own in a prison. As he made his way through the main area of the dungeon, past what appeared to be a well, I shadowed him silently.

Miraculously, my presence went largely unnoticed by the majority of the prisoners, and those who did notice me were quickly warned away by a sharp look from Balthier who would put himself between us.

I followed him down a dark hallway that opened up into a large room with a skylight far above, beyond the reach of any possible escape plan. My eyes roved over the room and I let out a small gasp as I saw what reminded me of an old coliseum ring, but the size of what I imagined an illegal cage fighting ring would be.

I reached out and squeezed Balthier’s arm once before pointing at it. Vaan was being dragged into the ring by some fierce (and rather ugly) looking… pig-men?

“I see,” he whispered before starting forward as the gates slammed down, trapping Vaan in the ring. I followed silently again, biting my lip in worry.

“Something stinks in here, all right,” Balthier said, drawing attention to himself. “I’ve changed my mind. This is no dungeon, it’s a sty.”

I snorted softly as he smirked down at the pig-man who jabbered unintelligibly up at him. He cracked his knuckles.

“I said you’re the one that stinks, Hamshanks. Hear me now?” He taunted. I slipped away down the ramp to stand next to the gate, having no desire to join the fight, as he jumped the railing and landed gracefully in the pit with Vaan. Fist-fights were not at all my forte, so I’d leave it to the boys to deal with this mess.

I leaned in the shadow of the wall, watching as Balthier confidently raised a hand in the universal “come-get-me” sign, beckoning them to attack. I clenched my hands into fists as I watched on. Balthier and Vaan were both unarmed, but the pig-men had clubs and I fought back a whimper as one of them swung.

“Don’t worry,” a familiar voice said quietly. I looked over my shoulder to see Fran standing in the shadows behind me, smirking lightly. “If Balthier could not handle himself in a fight such as this one, he wouldn’t be here now. He and your friend will be fine.” I nodded and turned my eyes back to the fight.

Vaan and Balthier fought well together, taking down the three pigs fairly quickly. As the last one hit the dirt and silence rang out in the open air of the room, prisoners started to approach the railing to look down into the pit at the victors. Balthier casually brushed some dust from the front of his shirt as Vaan looked around.

The chatter of the prisoners almost drowned out the sound of the lift to the surface arriving and the gate clattering open. Almost. Everyone’s attention was drawn to the gate and the prisoners scattered back into the shadows as they realized Imperials were coming.

Balthier pulled Vaan to press against the wall of the pit between them and the Imperials. Fran and I were thankfully hidden entirely from view in our place next to the gate of the pit. I held my breath as I heard what was clearly a Bangaa voice snarl, and I watched Fran raise the gate we were next to just high enough for Vaan and Balthier to slide under.

“Through the Oubliette, there’s a way out,” Fran whispered as Balthier got close to the gate. “Only…”

“Only you sense the Mist.” Balthier finished her sentence. His tone didn’t make it a question, but Fran nodded anyway. He slid under the gate and dusted himself off as he rose. “Then we’ll need weapons,” he said cheerily. Once Vaan was on our side of the gate and standing I grabbed his arm and jerked him towards me to give him a quick hug.

“You absolute moron,” I hissed in his ear before I let him go. “Next time you decide to get in a prison-yard fist fight, don’t go alone.”

“It’s not like I meant to,” he whispered back, pink dusting his cheeks.

“What did you call me? Say that again!” We turned as we heard a commotion from where the Imperials and the Bangaa were standing, looking out over the room we were in.

“What, you couldn’t hear?” The Bangaa snarled back, “I merely said that the lot of you are incompetent fools!” Did this fucking raspy lizard have an Irish accent? I shook my head to focus on the argument breaking out.

“If you’ve the sky-pirate in your hands, where is he?” The Irish lizard continued, and I glanced over at Balthier.

_ ‘So he’s after Balthier?’ _

_ ‘It sounds like it…’ _

“You’d have done better, Ba’Gamnan?” We heard the Imperial question. “By your own words, it was the Imperial Army who caught this sky-pirate of yours. We’ve done your job for you! We don’t require the assistance of filthy headhunters.”

So that’s what Irish Lizard wanted with Balthier. He was a bounty hunter.

“Color me surprised that you have a price on your head, Balthier,” I whispered in a dry tone. He shot me a deadpan look right as Vaan elbowed me gently in the side.

“The Empire will restore order here!” The soldier declared confidently.

“Eh? What’s that ye say now?” I snorted quietly at how much he sounded like a sarcastic Irishman. “Maybe I’ll whet my blade on you, before I kill Balthier!” He snarled at the Imperial. My snicker abruptly cut off and my hand instinctively searched for my dagger.

_ ‘Like. Hell.’ _

A new voice entered the mix, halting the protective path my train of thought was following.

“That’s enough, Ba’Gamnan.”

Fran could apparently see what was going on. “A Judge,” she told us.

Vaan echoed her, sounding confused.

“The self-proclaimed guardians of law and order in Archadia,” Balthier clarified. “They’re the elite guard of House Solidor, which effectively makes them the commanders of the Imperial Army.”

I slid closer to the gate to see if I could get a glimpse of this “Judge.”

“If you ask me, they’re more executioners than judges,” Balthier continued. I glanced at him, wondering if he’d had personal experience with one before. “Not a friendly lot, at any rate. What is one doing here?” I figured he was just talking out loud at this point.

The “Judge” we’d heard came to stand in front of the Bangaa headhunter. His armor was more bronze looking than the steel of the foot soldiers around him, and his helmet had rather intimidating horns on it. I swallowed hard. Under normal circumstances, I probably would have found his armor comically ridiculous. As it was, though, all I felt was fear coil in my gut.

“The Emperor is willing to overlook race for his more talented servants,” the Judge said to Ba’Gamnan. Fury started to grow alongside the fear. I’d never had much patience for hypocrisy or racism and, from what I’d just heard, it seemed the Archadian Emperor had both. In spades. I ground my teeth together to try to keep my temper under control.

_ ‘Hermes’ dad’s a dick.’ _

_ ‘I mean… yeah, Zeus was pretty dickish at times.’ _

“However,” he continued, “Those who do not show respect will receive none in kind.”

“Your honor—” The lizard started, only to be cut off.

“You travel through our lands freely because the Emperor wills it. Am I correct?” The Judge’s voice took on a dark and almost patronizing tone, and I could almost see the Bangaa deflate from where I was spying. He seemed to give up on the argument, sensing the threat in the Judge’s voice and turning away. The Judge turned and started down the stairs on the opposite side of the room from us. I could only catch bits of his conversation with one of the soldiers from there.

“Where— —Captain.”

“We— —solitary— —Honor. —interrogation.”

The Irish lizard snarled angrily at something the Judge said, then turned to a couple other Bangaa I hadn’t paid attention to before.

“He’s in here somewhere! Find him!”

Balthier’s hand landed on my shoulder.

“Time for the hare to follow the fox,” he said with a smirk.

Vaan and I shared a confused look.

“You mean you want to follow literally the most powerful man in this dungeon right now? The one you literally not two minutes ago called an ‘executioner’?” I hissed frantically at him.

“The magicks binding the door to the oubliette are quite strong,” Fran told me calmly. “Too strong even for my talents.”

Balthier stepped around me to start up the stairs. “That’s why we’ll get them to open it for us,” he said, a smug humor in his voice. I stared at his back.

_ ‘What in the absolute hell has Vaan gotten us into?’ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all. I'm super fucking hyped for the next chapter. It's gonna be...oh it's gonna be so good. Tbh I've already gotten it basically written, I just need to tweak it for what's happened in the story so far instead of what I thought would have happened in the story by the time we got there when I wrote it. Before I ever finished/posted Ch1. :D
> 
> So yeah. Look forward to that. It's my baby chapter. ^w^


	7. Dungeons & Decisions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader makes decisions that are arguably very bad for her health. Vaan doesn't help matters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~THIS CHAPTER IS MY BABY, YOU GUYS.~
> 
> ~I LOVE IT SO MUCH.~
> 
> ******WARNING******  
> Graphic depictions of violence, read carefully.

Vaan spoke up, obviously doubting this plan.

“How’s going deeper into this place going to—”

Balthier spun around and stepped toward him, tapping his chest and cutting him off. “What’s wrong? You don’t trust her? Viera’s noses are sharp. If she says there’s a way out, there’s a way out.”

“Come on, Vaan,” I whispered, stepping next to him to nod at Balthier. “You got a better plan? Let’s just roll with it.”

I followed Balthier’s lead as he tailed the Imperials, skirting around any of the Bangaa headhunters who were searching for him. We back-tracked into the main part of the dungeon where the well was and slipped through a door that led into a dark hallway. I could just make out the Imperials we were tailing, farther down the hall past a doorway.

As we ran past the doorway, I heard Fran slow to a stop behind me and I did the same, turning to make my way back to her.

“Look!” She called ahead to Balthier and Vaan. They both came back and Balthier smirked.

“Ah! The prison repository of wrested relics and raiments.”

I raised an eyebrow at him.

“So, our things are in here?” Vaan questioned. Balthier got a smile on his face that reminded me of when I’d tell my friends a terrible joke back home.

“That’s what I said,” he told Vaan happily. I groaned.

We dug through the piles of stuff. I found Vaan’s coin pouch and tossed it to him with a call over my shoulder, Balthier found my dagger and Fran found my sword, bringing them over to me before continuing the search for their things. My hand found something familiar. A large, uncut quartz-type rock.

“Vaan!” I turned with a grin, slipping my find into my pocket, he looked over his shoulder at me. “I’ve found the Sorcerer’s Stone.” He blinked at me a couple times before a grin stretched across his face.

“Fantastic,” he practically purred. Balthier looked between us.

“Sorcerer’s Stone?” He questioned, obviously lost.

“An inside joke between us, from my home.” I explained carefully. Just because I was pretty sure Bathier and Fran would be staying with us didn’t mean Balthier wouldn’t try to take the magicite we’d found if he had the chance. “I told him about a book I’d read when I was in school and then we ended up finding something that reminds me an awful lot of the item the book was named for.”

“Ah, I understand,” he said. He turned to keep looking for his gun, which I happened to spot when I turned around. I grabbed it and took it over to Balthier.

“Hey, Handsome,” I said with a sweet smile as I came up behind him. “I think I found something of yours.” I winked and poked my tongue out of the corner of my mouth as I handed him his gun.

“My,” he hummed softly, eyes trailing up and down with a smug smile before taking his gun from me. “You look fine with a rifle in your hand. Ever thought of switching to it?”

I hummed, smirking up at him. “Nope. I think I’ll leave the attention seeking weapons to the leading man,” I snickered when all he did was blink at me. Looking past him, my eyes caught on an absolutely beautiful Falcata sword. I felt my lips part and I drifted past Balthier to investigate.

I picked it up in my hand and gave it a few experimental swings. It was a gorgeous black metal, the guard and pommel had a silver leaf inlay that made it look almost elvish, and the hilt was hardwood with leather grips set into it. Its sheath was laying a few feet away, made of the same dark metal as the blade and guard, and with the same intricate silver inlay as the guard.

“Stygian,” I whispered its new name reverently, dropping my previous sword to the ground. Sure it wasn’t the most creative name, but it felt right.

“What was that?” Balthier asked.

“Stygian,” I answered distractedly as I picked up the sheath and slid the sword home. It barely made a sound. “This sword. It looks like a material that was described in one of my favorite book series. Stygian iron. And it’s the same type of sword as the one in the books.”

“Does that mean you’re getting rid of your old sword?” I heard Vaan ask, a hair's breadth away from sounding petulant.

“You can keep it and sell it when we get to town to get some of the money back from it, Vaan. This one just…it’s calling to me,” I told him softly, glancing over my shoulder with a pout.

“Fine,” he said when he met my eyes. “We’ll sell your old one.”

I strapped the sheath on with a small smile, following it with my dagger. I didn’t see a dagger around that would compliment Stygian’s aesthetic, so for now I’d just stick with the dagger I’d gotten when I first showed up in Ivalice. Even after I found a suitable replacement I probably wouldn’t have it in me to sell it.

I turned to find that everyone else was ready to go and I nodded to them.

“I’m ready when you guys are,” I whispered.

Balthier led the way out of the room and down the hall. We were running again, and just as the Imperials came into view again they disappeared through a door. I heard Balthier mutter a curse as the door began to fall shut and we all sped up. We just barely made it, me having to turn sideways and slip through right before it fell shut.

I saw Balthier backtrack quickly out of the next room almost before he even stepped in it, and he pressed himself to the wall. Vaan and I crept forward to see what made him back up and a breath hissed through my clenched teeth when I saw what Balthier had.

Imperials. Lots of them.

Vaan’s hand went for his dagger and I saw his muscles tense like he was about to go out and pick a fight. I knew him well enough to know that he definitely  _ was _ about to do that thing. My hand shot out and wrapped around his wrist so I could tug him back behind Balthier and Fran.

“What are you doing?” He hissed at me.

“You are  _ not _ about to go out there and pick a fight with every Imperial out there,” I hissed back.

“Oh, so you have a better plan?” He wrinkled his nose like he doubted anything I came up with would work, and I swallowed hard as I glanced toward the room beyond. I ran through the options quickly, my hand tightening on his wrist as I came to a very upsetting conclusion.

“Yes,” I choked out through the lump forming in my throat. I let go of his wrist and slipped my hand into my pocket.

“Wanna share it with the class?” He prompted with a raised eyebrow, “Because it can’t be that great if it’s giving you the same reaction you had when you figured out you’d universe hopped.”

I slipped the magicite to him without Balthier or Fran noticing, “No, no I don’t care to share it with the class.” My voice was strained and I turned to face the entry to the next room. “All you need to know is that you and Fran will back me up in case I’m seen. Other than that you stay where I tell you to stay until I tell you to move.”

Balthier put a hand on my shoulder, “What about me, you don’t want me to back you up?”

I slipped my jacket off and handed it to him, “You have the most important job, Mister I-Must-Use-The-Most-Anti-Steath-Weapon-Possible. Guard my jacket with your life.” He laid my jacket over his arm and stepped back.

“I defer to your wisdom then,” he whispered with the ghost of a smile. I stepped forward and swallowed my nerves as I slunk into the shadows against the wall, eyeing one of the soldiers closest to me.

I slid my dagger silently out of its sheath and passed it to my main hand, holding it in a standard grip. While I watched him I recalled anatomy lessons from high school and details from crime shows I’d watched. A specific episode of NCIS came up and I grimaced. It wouldn’t be pretty, and it would definitely be messy…but it would be quick and efficient and it would hopefully draw the least attention.

I took a deep breath, nausea curling in my stomach. He wasn’t near any other soldiers at the moment and he was close to the spot I’d hidden myself, so when he turned his back I knew I couldn’t stall any longer. I drew on every ounce of the stealth I’d developed over the years for innocent things like sneaking to the kitchen for a 3am snack without waking my grandparents, or sneaking up to startle my friends in high school.

I darted out of the shadows silently and up behind the soldier, reaching up to jerk his head back. I caught sight of a sliver of skin showing just under his helmet as I pulled and I took the chance to stab my dagger through the side of his neck. I pushed it forward, severing his trachea and carotid arteries and cutting off his cry.

Arterial spray covered my hand and I whimpered as I struggled to catch the soldier’s dead weight before he crumpled all the way to the ground. I dragged him back into the shadows I’d just come from and gently laid him down, pulling his helmet off and brushing my fingers over his eyes to close them.

_ “I’m so sorry,” _ I whispered through a choked sob as I crossed his hands over his chest.

_ ‘Stay strong. There’s a lot of soldiers between us and the exit. You’ll have time to break down after we get out of here, just stay focused until then.’ _

_ ‘I…I don’t think I can do this,’ _ I thought to myself frantically, fighting down nausea.

_ ‘You can do this. You have to do this. If you need something to assuage your guilt, think to the ancient Greeks. Their mythology and culture has always been a comfort, use that to your advantage.’ _

_ ‘Charon…’ _

I reached into my pocket and pulled out a single gil, putting it over the man’s lips.

_ “I hope you find peace,” _ I whispered softly, swallowing bile as I turned to find another target. There was another soldier nearby and I slipped through the shadows to get close. I watched as he made his way around his path. On his closest pass to me, as soon as he turned his back, I shot out from the shadows to repeat what I’d done with the first soldier.

Warm blood coated my hand and nausea burned again as I caught the soldier and pulled him to the shadows. I pulled his helmet off and crossed his hands, following my actions from the first soldier meticulously.

The path to the stairs was clear for the others, but when I looked up to the top of the stairs I saw another soldier. I blew a slow breath out of my nose and glanced over to the doorway to see the others watching intently. I couldn’t see their expressions clearly, but I knew they could see me so I pointed to them and then held my hand palm up to them to tell them to stay. Then I pointed to myself, then up the stairs, then held up one finger.

Hopefully they got the message.

I crept up the stairs, watching as the soldier walked past them to the right. I didn’t give myself a chance to overthink it, shooting forward and grabbing his helmet. I yanked hard and drove my dagger through his throat like the others, cutting off his cry and coating my hand in another wave of blood.

My nausea was getting progressively worse with every body added to my conscience. I dragged him to the shadows to follow what was becoming a ritual. When I was done I went back over to the stairs and went about halfway down before motioning the others to join me. I led them to the shadows, as far away from the newest body as possible.

I could tell Vaan was excited and impressed, but there was a hint of suspicion behind it. “I thought you didn’t know how to use a weapon,” the accusation there turned my stomach even more.

“I didn’t. That doesn’t mean that I didn’t know how to kill. I may not have needed to resort to violence or learn how to use a weapon, but there were plenty of stories about assassins.” I winced and turned to watch the next soldier standing between us and freedom as I continued in a soft voice, ignoring the blood dripping from my hand and blade.

“Video games, movies, books, television shows; death was a common entertainment tool in my world. Rather morbid, now that I actually think about it, but it doesn’t change the fact that I learned the best ways to kill without ever having to pick up a weapon myself.”

I didn’t see the look Balthier was giving me, or the look he shared with Fran, but he put a hand on my shoulder.

“You don’t have to keep this up,” he whispered to me. I pulled my shoulder from his grasp.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Balthier. I went through every option I could think of. This one was the one that got us to the exit the fastest with the least chance of us being caught or killed,” I muttered, slipping off through the shadows. “Stay,” I threw back over my shoulder.

My next victim was trailing back and forth on the balcony and I held my breath, pressing myself against the wall, deeper into the shadows as his path took him right past me. His back was to me and he was as far away from the next guard as he was going to get.

I darted forward and killed him quickly, whispering an apology as his blood covered my hand like the others’. I motioned my group forward after I’d taken care of his body.

“Wait, why is there a gil on his lips,” Vaan whispered and I felt every muscle tense. “Have you been wasting gil on everyone you’ve killed?” I whipped around to find him reaching for the coin and I raised my dagger to point at him, my hand surprisingly steady for how badly my stomach was turning.

“If you touch that gil, I’ll relieve you of your hand,” I hissed darkly, blood dripping from the tip of my dagger. He turned to me with an incredulous look.

“What the hell’s gotten into you,” he snapped. Balthier grabbed Vaan’s arm.

“Let it go,” He told Vaan, eyes locked on me. “Pick your battles. This is one you don’t want to fight.”

I turned and darted forward to the next guard. He wasn’t walking, just standing lookout with his back to where we were hidden. With another whispered apology, another body was added to the growing pile on my conscience.

The rest of the way through the depths of the dungeon was spent in a tense silence with me fighting down the rising nausea. Three more men were left in the shadows after that, bringing the total number of bodies on my conscience to eight. I looked around the next corner only to back up and press myself to the wall.

“We’ve caught up to them,” I hissed under my breath before poking my head back around. They stood in front of an intricate door that looked like it was covered in vines, and I watched as the lead Imperial chanted a spell. The door started glowing brightly and I took the chance to slip into the hallway, hiding behind the pillars as I crept my way forward.

There was no way I was going to try to kill them, they were too grouped up for me to pick them off the way I had been, but I assumed that this was the door Fran had mentioned. Which meant we only had one chance to get through it. I peeked around the pillar to see the vines peeling away from the door.

As it opened and I watched the group of Imperials enter I took a slow calming breath.

_ ‘It’s almost over. Just a little bit longer, you can make it.’ _

_ ‘Thanks for the confidence.’ _

The Imperials disappeared down the stairs on the other side of the door, but to my surprise it stayed open. I felt three bodies come up behind me, their presence serving to comfort me at least a little, whether they realized it or not.

“We’re here,” I said in a sullen whisper.

“That we are,” Balthier agreed. “Let’s get out of here.”

He took the lead down the stairs and I followed behind, trying not to think about what I’d done to get us here.

We hid in an alcove, spying on the Judge and his prisoner. The prisoner was in a cage that was suspended over a pit and I suddenly started getting deja vu vibes from it, like I’d seen or read about it somewhere before.

_ ‘Tartarus…’ _

_ ‘Not every deep dark hole in a prison should remind us of Tartarus.’ _

_ ‘You say that, but…’ _

“You have grown very thin, Basch.” The Judge said apathetically as he removed his helmet. He was almost attractive; or he would have been, if I hadn’t been absolutely sure that his personality was—as Kaminari from  _ My Hero Academia _ would put it—“flaming crap mixed with garbage”. Vaan let out a small gasp and moved closer to bars of the gate that was somehow hiding us. Apparently Basch was a name he recognized.

“Less than a shadow, less than a man. Sentenced to death and yet you live. Why?” The Judge asked Basch. I peeked through the bars to get a look. The prisoner was scraggly and looked fairly emaciated, he had long blond hair and a shaggy beard. My heart broke for him, having to live like this.

“Why not ask Vayne, is he not one of your masters?” Basch replied weakly. My brows furrowed. Sure, Vayne was capable of…horrible things, but anything he did was for the people he loved. For his family and for Archadia. What could he hope to achieve by keeping this man alive in such a condition?

_ ‘...and Zeus sealed him deep in the dark Tartarean pit.’ _

I shook my head, surely my mind was just drawing parallels that weren’t actually there, though it would make more sense if this was a play from Vayne’s father instead of Vayne himself.

I heard them mention the leader of the insurgency and said her name was Amalia, saying she was being brought from Rabanastre. I raised an eyebrow.

_ ‘But if she was captured with us, why not just bring her here at the same time?’ _

_ ‘Something’s fishy…’ _

“Such a faithful hound, to cling so to a fallen kingdom,” the Judge told Basch.

“Better than throwing it away,” Basch replied in what could only be described as a literal growl.

“Throwing it away?” The Judge had put his helmet back on and the accusatory tone in his voice echoed through the room. “As you threw away  _ our _ homeland?”

_ ‘Wait, what?’ _

_ ‘I dunno. Sounds like there’s a history there. That would probably be an interesting story.’ _

The Judge and his escorts walked away from the man, leaving him hanging over the pit. Once they had disappeared down a hall Balthier stepped out and made his way over to the pit with Fran right behind him. Vaan followed curiously, and I trailed behind him, unsure what to make of the situation. Our footsteps disturbed the prisoner.

“Who’s there?”

Balthier ignored him, in favor of inspecting the pit he was dangling over. I was reluctant to get any closer to it. Not that I had any problem with heights, just that it was still giving me Tartarus vibes.

“This the place?” He asked. Fran stood off to the side.

“The Mist is flowing through this room, it must be going somewhere,” she told him.

“You! You’re no Imperials,” Basch realized. “Please, you must get me out—”

Bathier cut him off mercilessly. “It’s against my policy to speak with the dead.” He sounded angry, and for a split second I couldn’t understand why. Then he continued. “Especially when they happen to be kingslayers.”

_ ‘Kingslayers?’ _

_ ‘Whose king did this guy kill? You’d think if he killed a former emperor or something there wouldn’t be hostility from Balthier…also the Empire probably would have killed him. But if he killed the king of a country resisting the Empire why would the Empire be keeping him prisoner? Especially like this?’ _

“I did not kill him!” Basch’s voice took a desperate tone and my heart beat painfully.

“Is that so?” Balthier finally locked eyes with him, his tone clearly saying he didn’t believe it. “Glad to hear it,” he said before turning away. My eyes narrowed at Balthier’s back.

Basch looked away, his eyes sliding over me before landing on Vaan. He’d only spared me a glance, and part of me was annoyed at that. Did he not think I would free him just because I was dressed differently than the others or because I was a woman?

“Please,” he begged Vaan, “Get me out. For the sake of Dalmasca.”

The second the words left his lips I knew he’d made a mistake. I saw every muscle in Vaan’s body go tense and I knew what would follow, but in trailing behind them I wasn’t close enough to reach out and stop Vaan’s sudden movement.

He lunged for the cage, jumping onto the railing and grabbing onto the steel bars separating him from Basch.

He raised his voice and I winced. Just because those Imperials weren’t here now didn’t mean they were out of earshot.

“Dalmasca?! What do you care about Dalmasca?”

“Vaan,” I said calmly, “Keep your voice down. We’re trying to sneak out, not draw the whole of the Empire down on us.” He glared at me.

“This man is the reason my brother is dead.”

“That may be,” I growled at him suddenly, taking a step forward. “However, I am the reason eight mothers have lost their sons today. How many brothers have I put into your position in the past forty-five minutes, Vaan? I would prefer not to add to that count needlessly, which will be inevitable if you don’t calm the fuck down and step away from whoever the fuck this guy is.”

Vaan growled in response and slammed his hand into the cage in frustration. From down the hallway that the Imperials had disappeared down, we heard voices and metal clattering.

“Gods. Dammit. VAAN.” I snarled at my best friend, taking a step forward.

“I’m dropping it,” Fran cut in, ax kicking the lever that allowed the cage to be raised from and lowered into the pit. The cage started to drop with Vaan still hanging onto the front and Fran jumped onto the top. I heard Balthier sigh.

“Pirates without a sky,” he said cheekily as he jumped and grabbed hold of the chain that had held the cage aloft. I followed his lead, gripping the metal tightly.

_ “I shall take him and dash him down to the murk of Tartaros,” _ I muttered, finding more and more parallels between this pit and the one from Greek myth.

Wind whipped around us as we fell.

_ ‘We’ve probably already reached terminal velocity,’ _

_ ‘NOT. HELPING.’ _

I sure as shit didn’t plan to die in a knockoff Tartarus in an entirely different universe. I closed my eyes as we continued to free fall and I felt the Mist swirl around me like an eager dog awaiting a command. I started to sing softly.

_ “When angels fall with broken wings… _ _   
_ _ I can’t give up, I can’t give in. _ _   
_ _ When all is lost and daylight ends _ _   
_ _ I’ll carry you and we will live forever, for ever” _

My soft soprano notes echoed through the dark of the pit. The original version of the song wasn’t nearly as soft and slow, but the words fit what I was feeling.

The next thing we knew a strong updraft came from the bottom of the pit, slowing our descent. I kept singing, the words flowing freely into the air around me.

_ “The sun begins to rise and wash away the sky _ _   
_ _ The turning of the tide, don’t leave it all behind _ _   
_ __ And I will never say goodbye…”

As we crashed into the ground at the bottom I was relieved to see it had worked; the magic had slowed us just enough that nothing was broken and nobody died.

I stumbled away from the others on shaky legs.

“If you’ll excuse me,” I muttered as I brushed past Vaan. I reached a pile of rubble near the cage and fell to my knees, bending over and emptying the bile from my stomach. I could feel stares on my back and I heard Basch speak up as dry heaves wracked my body, tears blurring my eyes as my bloody hand held me up and my other hand kept my hair from falling into the mess on the ground.

“What’s wrong with her?”

“Something disagreed with her stomach,” Balthier responded—the accuracy lost on Basch and most likely Vaan—when I stood and wiped my tears before I turned around to face them. I huffed a small laugh as I walked up to him.

“You could say that.” I examined Basch closely. Vaan tried to charge him and Balthier reached to stop it, but before he could I whipped around in a roundhouse kick that caught Vaan in the gut. He stumbled back, clutching his stomach and looked at me in betrayal as I stalked forward to poke him in the chest with my bloody hand.

_ “You,” _ I snarled lowly. “I asked you for  _ one thing. _ ‘Don’t make me kill anyone else today.’ I went along with your fucking suicidal idea to break into the palace without so much as a whisper of actual complaint, I didn’t hold it against you when we got thrown in a dungeon to fucking rot, I put my  _ morals _ aside to get us to the oubliette as fast as possible with the least amount of risk to us, and then I ask you for  _ one thing. _ I ask you to calm the hell down so that I don’t have to get anymore goddamned  _ blood _ on my _ hands. _ I ask you to put aside your hatred long enough for us to escape without adding any more  _ bodies to my conscience. _ But apparently that was just  _ too much to ask of you, _ so allow me to apologize for expecting too fucking much of you. I’ll keep your limitations in mind next time.”

I turned and walked to Basch, everyone silent in the aftermath of my temper snapping. “I apologize for Vaan’s behavior. Apparently self-control isn’t one of his strong suits. Much like my handle on my temper.” I knelt down in front of him and offered my clean hand. “Can you stand? Do you think you can walk?”

“Who…are you?” He asked in confusion. My lips twitched with the ghost of a smirk.

“I’m nothing but a cosmic mistake that has yet to be corrected.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stygian is named for and modeled after Nico Di Angelo's sword in Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
> 
> So the first quote about Tartarus is an excerpt from a Greek Epic about Kronos. The second quote as she jumps into the pit is from The Iliad and it's Zeus warning the other gods not to get involved in the Trojan War.
> 
> The song she sings is one of three that inspired the title for this fic, Angels Fall by Breaking Benjamin.


	8. Splish Splash I was Taking A Bath In The Pool of Self Deprication

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basch learns some interesting things about the strange girl he just met.

“I’m nothing but a cosmic mistake that has yet to be corrected.”

As soon as the words left my mouth I heard Balthier’s sharp intake of breath, and I didn’t need to look to know that Vaan was gritting his teeth and clenching his fists.

“I’m sure that’s not true,” Basch said softly, taking my hand so I could help him re-situate to lean against the wall of the tunnel we’d fallen into. I smiled brightly at him.

“Maybe, maybe not. That remains to be seen. If you’re strong enough to walk then we need to go.”

“We’re taking him with us?” Vaan didn’t sound happy. I leveled him with an unimpressed stare.

“You’re grounded from making decisions right now, Vaan. If I hadn’t been able to slow our fall we probably would have died, all because  _ you _ couldn’t keep your head on straight,” I said, standing and walking past him. “I may not have very good control of my temper, but at least I know better than to start screaming at someone when we’re trying to break out of prison and the guards are literally right down the hall.”

I kept walking, feeling for the Mist as I did. I wanted this blood off my hand. I willed it to wrap around my hand and forearm, then turned it to water.

As I used my water magic to wash my hand I heard whispers travel from the others up to me.

“Why was she throwing up? Is she ill? She seems fine now,” Basch’s hushed voice floated to me.

“She does seem that way,” Balthier responded, “but in order to get us safely to our exit she took it upon herself to kill eight men.” I sighed softly, staring at the pink tinged water surrounding my hand and forearm as I scrubbed at the blood that had begun to dry.

_ ‘I’m a murderer.’ _

_ ‘You did what was necessary.’ _

_ ‘Bullshit. Killing should never be considered necessary. I did what was easiest, not what was necessary.’ _

_ ‘From where I’m sitting it doesn’t seem like it was all that easy for you.’ _

_ ‘It was the path of least resistance.’ _

“Guilt,” Basch realized.

“That would be my guess,” Balthier acknowledged.

“They were just Imperials,” Vaan whispered harshly, “They would have killed her without a second thought! Why does she feel guilty for killing someone who would kill her?” My shoulders tensed and I scrubbed harder at the blood, the water a light red now.

Balthier sighed. “Vaan, she knows they would kill her, but think of what you know of her. Think of what she’s told us of her home. Violence was not a commonality for her before coming here.”

Vaan remained quiet as he considered that. I wondered what Basch would think of this new information.

“Where is she from that violence was uncommon?”

I could feel the look Balthier sent toward my back as I stepped down onto a set of stairs, the tunnel opening up into a large room. “We don’t know much about it. She’s told us small things like the lack of violence, and she’s let bits of random knowledge slip to us, but we don’t know much more than that.”

I let a small smile slip to myself. Balthier was a master of half-truths, it seemed, because though everything he had said was  _ true _ it wasn’t the whole truth. He’d left out the biggest detail I’d told them about my home: that it was a different universe.

Deciding my hand was about as clean as it would get, I let it drop to my side. The water that had surrounded it fell harmlessly to the ground at the foot of the short stairway.

“Did she just…use water magic to clean her hand?” Basch’s fascinated, albeit shocked voice echoed. I turned around with a smirk.

“I did. Now, Balthier, if you’d be so kind as to return my jacket?”

He gave me a smile as he produced my jacket and handed it to me. “As the Lady wishes.”

I snorted as I slid my arms into the sleeves, then sighed at the familiar, comforting weight on my shoulders. We were on the second floor walkway of the room we’d just come into and there was a large machine on the same level as us. As Vaan found a treasure chest in a room off to the side, I kept walking to investigate the machine. It was connected to the walkway we were on and I stood back a little way with my arms crossed as I looked it over.

Thick cables ran from the top of the machine to the ceiling. Some of them went into lights that weren’t on, some of them ran along the ceiling and down to a switch near a gate on the lower floor. I walked up to the machine and pushed the button I saw, but nothing happened.

“What have you found?” I turned to find Basch staring at me with an unreadable expression.

“Well if I’m right, it’s a generator.”

“If you’re right?” He came a little closer to get a look at it too.

“Yeah, I’m like…ninety-five percent sure I’m right, but it’s not working. If it  _ is _ a generator, then I think it has a fuse blown.” I said with a small pout, looking off to the side. I didn’t know much about electricity or fixing generators. If we couldn’t find a fuse I wasn’t sure how we’d get out of here. The gate on the lower floor was the only exit from the room aside from the tunnel we’d come crashing through, and it looked like it was powered by this machine, so if we couldn’t get it working we’d be stuck.

“Let me have a look,” Balthier said, stepping around me. He leaned over a panel on the side of the switchbox that I hadn’t noticed. After a moment he straightened back up and nodded.

“You’re right, the fuse is blown. From the looks of the wiring I’d say this is a central power relay. If it’s not working then I doubt we’ll find much running down here.” I pursed my lips in thought as Balthier looked back at me. “Any suggestions?”

I leaned against the railing and glared down to the first floor. I saw a Bangaa sitting on the ground between the switch that was connected to the generator and the gate, and I straightened up, squaring my shoulders.

“Yeah, I have one idea. Stay here.” I walked away down the stairs to the first floor and approached the Bangaa slowly.

“Hi there,” I started with a small, friendly smile.

“Don’ get many visitors down here,” he said, warily eyeing me. “You here lookin’ fer odds an’ ends?”

“Actually, my friends and I are searching for an exit,” I said, still smiling.

“Oh, the exit is jus’ up those stairs the way you came.”

I felt my smile strain a bit and I cleared my throat. “That’s, ah…unfortunate,” I said slowly. “The tunnel up there has uh…had a cave in. It’s completely blocked off now.”

His head twitched as he looked at me, and I’d spent enough time around Migelo over the past weeks to know that was about as close as a Bangaa would get to jolting in surprise. “Well then, there’s nothing fer it but to look fer another way out through these here tunnels. You’ll need to get the power working again ‘fore that gate’ll budge though.”

I nodded. “That’s actually why I came to talk to you. I was hoping you might have a replacement fuse for the generator up there.”

He dug around in his pockets for a moment before producing a tube fuse and handing it to me. “This should work. Made that tube fuse from parts I found down in these very tunnels,” he told me. “It’s good as any you’ll find, an’ better’n most.” After I took the fuse I took his hand. I squeezed it gently and looked him in the eyes.

“Thank you for this,” I whispered. He squeezed my hand back, surprise shining in his eyes.

“Yer quite welcome, young lady.” His raspy voice was soft and he let go of my hand. As I walked back up the steps I could feel his eyes staying on me like I was an oddity he’d never dreamed of seeing before.

I walked up to Balthier, who was still standing next to the fuse box with an unreadable expression, and I produced the fuse with a flourish and a bow.

“One tube fuse, acquired free of charge by yours truly,” I said with a grin.

I heard Vaan snort. “I told you she’d be fine,” he said, but to whom I wasn’t sure. “If there’s one thing she can do, it’s sweet-talk total strangers into helping her for free.”

I leveled a glare at him. “Just because you have to butt heads with everyone you meet doesn’t mean I have to do the same. A little kindness can take you a long way,” I told him with a sniff. “Especially in a world as cruel as this one,” I whispered to myself. I thought I saw Basch tense slightly out of the corner of my eye, but when I glanced over his posture was the same as it had been since he got out of his cage: slightly on edge, but loose and ready for an attack.

I looked back to the generator just as Balthier stepped back and part of the machine clattered into place. I heard electricity hum through the lines and the lights slowly came to life. I squeezed my eyes shut as I immediately felt a headache begin to form at the base of my skull from the electrical noise.

“Fantastic,” I hissed softly, opening my eyes and shaking my head. I turned away from the generator and started to head back down the stairs.

“Let’s go,” I muttered over my shoulder. The last thing I needed to end up with in this world was one of my migraines. I was lucky I’d made it as long as I had without one, to be honest, so I should have expected my luck to run out eventually.

I descended the stairs quicker this time, my foot barely making contact with one stair before moving to the next. On the ground floor I sent a grateful smile to the Bangaa, walking toward the switch he was sitting next to.

“Worked like a charm,” I told him. “Thanks again for letting us use it.”

He nodded as my companions came up behind me.

“You’ve got quite the group with you, missy,” he said, eyeing the others. I turned to inspect them.

“Yeah, we’re all just a bunch of misfits,” I said with a smirk. “Two sky-pirates, an orphan, an ex-soldier, and an outlier who shouldn’t be counted.” I turned back and palmed the switch connected to the gate, breathing a sigh of relief when it opened.

“Speaking of,” I said more to myself than anyone else before turning to Basch. “What was your rank in the military, anyway. I don’t think anyone’s mentioned it, or if they have I wasn’t listening.”

“Captain,” he responded, both of us ignoring Vaan’s moody huff. I looked him over, my brain drawing parallels that were making it hard not to laugh.

_ ‘Blond hair…’ _

_ ‘Blue eyes…’ _

_ ‘Obviously well muscled when he hasn’t been caged in Tartarus for god knows how long…’ _

I hummed in thought. “What type of weapon did you use, Cap?” I asked, surprising him by using his rank. If his name was as infamous as I had a feeling it was, then we would want to avoid using it as much as possible.

“Sword and shield,” he replied slowly. I looked over to Vaan.

“Ohhhh no,” he said shaking his head. “You said I could sell it when we got back to town, I’m not giving it to  _ him.” _

“Consider it a  _ loan, _ then,” I snarled back, the dull pound at the base of my skull cutting my patience short. “He needs a fucking weapon. He’s not a super soldier, and I’m not about to make him fight whatever the hell is down here with his bare hands. He can give it back either when he leaves or if he finds a sword down here that’s lacking an owner.”

Grudgingly Vaan pulled out the sword I’d replaced with Stygian and handed it to Basch. “Fine. Here.”

I rolled my eyes and looked at the Bangaa with a smile, “Kids. Sometimes they just need a little tough love.” He wheezed a chuckle out and nodded his head.

“If you’re worried ‘bout the monsters farther in the tunnels, maybe you should check my wares. I have potions and cures fer status ailments, among other things.”

The others took him up on that while I leaned against the wall just inside the gate and looked on into the next room. I could just barely see something moving in there and a shudder rippled down my frame as I thought about what it could be.

I felt a hand on my lower back and glanced to my left to see Balthier looking down the hallway as well.

“Are you…” he trailed off, seeming to be searching for the right words. I pushed off the wall and took a step forward as the others joined us.

“I’m fine,” I said, leading the way into the next room. I could feel his gaze on my back and I hugged my jacket tighter around my body. As I stepped into the next room the lights flickered and dimmed and my eyes narrowed. In the corner of the room was a blue spider looking thing.

“Who turned out the lights? One of those?” I heard Vaan ask. Balthier responded.

“I’ve heard of these,” he said, loading a round into the chamber of his gun. “Mimics. They disguise themselves as all manner of things, then strike when you’re least wary.”

“Lovely,” I breathed, reaching to grip Stygian’s hilt tightly.

“Some of them have a fondness for energy, I’m told,” he continued. “They gorge themselves on the stuff until there’s naught left.”

“So what happens then?” Vaan asked.

“Use your head, Kid,” I said before Balthier could respond. “The only logical thing that could happen when there’s no energy left. The lights go out.”

“She’s right,” Balthier said. “And it’s worse in the dark. Much worse.”

I shuddered, not wanting to find out exactly how bad it could be.

“Let them too close to one of those conduits and they’ll suck it dry. Don’t worry though,” he said happily. I could hear that lilt to his voice that told me whatever he was about to say next would be cheeky and I’d secretly think it was hilarious. “It’ll give the energy back if you ask nicely.” I snorted softly.

“Sticking it with a sword helps too,” he added.

“There it is,” I chuckled to myself. “I was wondering if all your snark had gotten lost somewhere between the beginning and the end of our fall through Tartarus,” I told him, pulling Stygian and my dagger free.

My chuckle died in my throat as I felt the handle of my dagger, solid in my palm and coated with something sticky. I suppressed a pained whimper when I realized that I’d cleaned my hand but not my weapon. I slid it back into its sheath and condensed the Mist into a ball of water in the palm of my off-hand, adding a flow to the ball so it would rinse the palm of my hand.

“What are we waiting for,” I whispered in a choked voice. “Let’s ask nicely.”

I shot forward toward the mimic and slashed downward with Stygian. It seemed shocked that it was getting attacked and I used the half-second pause it made to slam my off-hand forward, the ball of water exploding against its side.

It reared back, screaming in rage and I danced backwards, its pointy legs coming down where I’d been standing not a moment before. I noticed movement in my peripheral vision and I noticed smaller mimics scuttling towards us along with a...zombie shambling a little ways behind them.

“Shit,” I hissed. Louder, I called out to the group. “It has babies! Also, on an entirely unrelated note, there’s a  _ Resident Evil _ reject a little ways behind them. That can wait until after I’ve put the children to bed though,” I finished with a sickly sweet voice.

I heard Balthier’s incredulous voice raised over the echo of his gun firing. “You aren’t seriously planning what I think you are, are you?”

“That depends what you think I’m planning,” I called back with an evil grin. I moved to intercept the two baby mimics and called over my shoulder to the big one.

“Hey, Momma Mimic!”

“She’s planning  _ exactly _ what I thought she was planning,” I heard Balthier loudly grumble.

“These your kids? They’re cute!” It turned to face me just in time to see me slam my booted foot into the closest one, punting it like a soccer ball into a wall where it slid to the ground and didn’t get up again.

“Oh! And the crowd goes wild,” I turned, raising my sword to block an attack from the furious parent with a grin.

“Sorry, Home Team. That’s one point for The Visitors and we’re at the end of the first half.”

I heard a crackle of electricity and I stepped back, raising a hand. The air between myself and the mimic became denser and I twisted my wrist inward, curling my fingers as the mimic discharged some of the energy it had eaten. The dense air exploded forward, slicing at the mimic and dissipating the electricity.

I turned and punted the second tiny mimic like I had the first and an enraged shriek sounded from behind me. The zombie was closer now, but I still had an angry mimic to deal with so I turned halfway back around. I kept my sword facing the zombie and shoved my free hand out from my side. The mimic was caught in a water sphere and I kept grinning.

“That makes the score oh-and-two, Home Team, and I don’t think you’re gonna be able to catch up. So how about you give us that energy back? No? Alright, let it never be said that I didn’t try to negotiate!”

I ran forward and channeled Mist along my blade like I thought I could remember feeling when we’d fought the fire pony in the waterway. I slashed to the side, leaving a long gash through the mimic’s chest and I realized that my sword was coated in water.

_ ‘Well, that should make our melee more powerful.’ _

The mimic flopped over onto its back and the lights grew stronger again as the energy poured back into the conduit. I spun to face the zombie and darted forward, water still coating my sword.

“Alright,  _ World War Z, _ let’s deal with you now.” I slashed at one of its arms, slicing it off just above the elbow and twirled my blade once before slicing down on the other one. I missed the mark a little on that arm and my sword connected right below its elbow. It growled at me and I grinned.

“Sorry about that,  _ State of Decay,” _ I said, slowly circling it. “I tried to get them even, but you moved.” It screeched and tried to run at me. I heard a gunshot and it stumbled forward just enough for me to swing Stygian to the side. Its head fell off and it crumpled to the ground at my feet.

“Just a word of advice,” I started, flicking the blood from my blade and stepping over the body to face my friends, wrinkling my nose in distaste. “If you’re fighting a zombie, always aim for the head.” I sheathed Stygian and looked up to find everyone staring at me with some level of disapproval.

“What?” I asked innocently as I plucked my dagger from its sheath with two fingers and coated it in water.

“You’re being reckless again,” Vaan said flatly.

“That was basically a repeat of the Flan incident, only you were even  _ more _ reckless,” Balthier told me, arms crossed over his chest. Fran didn’t say anything but I could feel her disapproval from where she stood next to Balthier.

I continued to rub the blood off my dagger as I nodded along.

“You mean this has happened before?” Basch sounded as concerned as he looked and I shot him a grin.

“Oh that’s a hell of a story. Maybe you’ll get to hear it if I get bored enough down here.” The water around my dagger fell to the ground and I inspected it to make sure there was no more blood. When I was satisfied I nodded and looked up again, sliding my dagger into its sheath.

“Are we going to stand around here all day, judging me for my tendency to intentionally make myself a target, or are we going to get moving?” I asked, putting a hand on my hip and raising an eyebrow.

“I don’t think—” Basch started. I cut him off.

“Look, Captain America, these guys are supposed to be here. They’re the Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Luke Skywalker of this story. They’re Canon, I’m just cannon fodder.” They all shared confused looks at all the references I was dropping that they didn’t understand.

“I’m not supposed to be here, Fran said herself that I’m ‘not part of the Mist’, and if that doesn’t make you think I’m a cosmic mistake then I don’t know what clearer sign you need,” I continued, turning around so I didn’t have to face the pitying looks. I looked at the ground as my now small and brittle voice drifted out into the air, not talking to anyone in particular. Just talking.

“My home is in an entirely different universe, across space and time and I have no way to go back to it. So if I choose to use my life to protect my new family, my new friends, and a new home that is the polar opposite of the lush, forest covered mountains or rich, vibrantly green river valleys of my true home, then that is entirely  _ my choice.” _ I blinked back the tears that had started to drip to the floor when I finally let myself truly remember the home I would never see again and I raised my head to look forward again.

“Let’s go. I can still feel the chill of death even this far from the top of that pit,” I muttered as I started to walk, not giving anyone a chance to say anything.

I turned into a hall that opened up into a large two level room and as I bounded down the stairs, another baby mimic spotted me. I didn’t even hesitate, slamming the top of my boot into it in my best soccer kick, sending it flying across the room and continuing down the stairs without so much as a pause.

By the time I reached the bottom I’d punted another tiny mimic across the room and was staring down one of the big mimics whose dinner I’d disrupted with its child slamming into the wall above its head and sliding down onto the exposed conduit.

“You really should watch your kids better,” I taunted, spreading my feet shoulder width apart with my hands still in the pockets of my jacket. I heard a sigh behind me and I smirked as I danced out of the way of the mimics first strike.

“Oh and by the way, I’m pretty sure we just killed your romantic life partner and your other two kids,” I told it in an apathetic voice as I took my hands out of my pockets. “Sorry about that.”

I drew Stygian and coated it in Mist. It glowed slightly as I turned the Mist to air magic and added a flow in opposite directions on either side of the blade, making its cutting edge even sharper.

The mimic dove for Vaan instead of me and I swung my hand up to form a wall of water between them.

“Huh-uh. Eyes on me, you creepy, overgrown spider.”

It ignored me and attacked the water anyway, trying to get to Vaan.

“What the hell, Vaan!” I yelled as I dropped the water wall and used it to form a water sphere around the mimic instead. “How did you piss it off more than I did?!”

“I don’t know!” He yelled back as he blocked one of the mimics legs trying to impale him.

I got close and slashed at it with Stygian, the air magic from earlier still enhancing its strength. A gash, longer and deeper than anything I’d left before split its husk open and it squealed in pain. Vaan and Basch followed up with simultaneous slashes to two of it’s legs just as an arrow appeared from its neck and a crack echoed from Balthier’s gun.

The mimic flopped over onto its back as it died, and the electric current returned to the conduit it had been feasting on. I let my magic dissipate and sheathed my sword.

“So that was fun,” I chirped as I turned to keep going.

“Are we not going to talk about what you told us back there?” Vaan asked softly, following me into the next room where there were two more Mimics feeding on the power. It looked like this room had been used as a platform for a train station before the Empire had turned Nalbina into a dungeon.

“Which part? The part where I called you my new family, the part where I called Balthier and Fran my new friends, or the part where I called this desert my new home? Because it all seems pretty self-explanatory to me,” I said as I pulled Stygian and my dagger free.

“How about the part where you outed yourself to a traitor and a total stranger?” Vaan snapped. “Or where you called yourself a cosmic mistake for the fourth time in two days?”

I waved my dagger in the air dismissively, “Oh, he’s probably gonna end up joining us soon anyway. If not when we leave here then sometime later on.”

“What makes you think that?!” He asked as he attacked one of the mimics.

_ ‘I mean, he’s right. Brick didn’t mention Basch.’ _

_ ‘No, but think with video game logic. He has a link to Vaan and we just so happen to run into him even though he’s supposedly dead? Totally future party member setup.’ _

“The same thing that makes me think everything,” I said with a little bite to my voice slamming my dagger to the guard into the side of the same mimic, “Perks of being sent to a universe I don’t belong in. I know shit I probably shouldn’t.”

“Like what?” Balthier said as he took a shot at the mimic Basch was fighting.

I thought for a second before nodding. “Like at some point we’re going to meet the most insufferable person in this fucking universe and somehow she’s going to join our merry band of misfits,” I said blandly as I slashed downward with my air magicked sword.

The mimic Vaan and I had been fighting fell in two different directions and I turned to see Basch land the killing blow on the other mimic. I flicked my blades to make sure they were clean, then slid them home.

I sighed as I walked past Basch to follow the train tracks deeper into the tunnel system.

“I have a feeling getting out of here is going to be exhausting.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact! At the generator it was originally Balthier who came up behind her, but when I told greenblanket that I was having problems getting this chapter written she suggested I use this leg of their escape from Nalbina for Reader and Basch to get to know each other a little. I took that suggestion and ran with it.
> 
> Another Fun fact! Balthier and Basch are both low-key stressing about Reader talking to the Bangaa alone while she’s down there, but Vaan’s completely chill and smirking as he watches Balthier try not to show his concern.
> 
> This is that scene. :)  
> Surprise outtake in 3rd person PoV:
> 
> Balthier looked pensive, arms crossed and brows slightly furrowed, as ____ walked away from them and down the stairs. None of them were quite sure what this idea of hers was but, considering what her last one was, Balthier was worried. It was becoming apparent that she had some rather self-sacrificing tendencies.
> 
> He and Basch seemed to be in agreement over their worry, the ex-Captain's eyes following the younger girl's movements like a hawk. His grip turned white-knuckle on the railing as she approached an unknown Bangaa on the first floor and started talking softly to him.
> 
> "She's talking to a complete stranger!" He hissed in disbelief. Balthier spun around to see her talking to a Bangaa she couldn't possibly know.
> 
> "She's talking to a stranger?" Vaan asked, sounding happy and completely unaffected by how much danger his friend could possibly be in.
> 
> "How are you so calm right now?" Balthier asked him incredulously.
> 
> "Because if she's talking to a stranger we're as good as out of here," Vaan replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Both men turned to look at him and saw a calm smirk on his face as he leaned against the railing. "You'll see."
> 
> Balthier looked at Fran who shrugged.
> 
> "He knows her better than either of us," she said. "If he is not worried, I won't be either."
> 
> The men turned back in time to see the Bangaa hand ____ something small and watched as she took his hand for a moment before walking away. The Bangaa's eyes never left her back as she walked away and if either Balthier or Basch could come up with a word to describe him, it would probably be "shellshocked".
> 
> "What just happened?" Basch whispered, turning to watch ____ coming closer. She walked up to Balthier and presented him a small fuse with a bow, like she was presenting a priceless gem to a king.
> 
> 'Just who is this girl?' He thought to himself.


	9. Did Someone Ask For A Lesson?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because Reader is /teaching/ these boys (and girl) a bunch of random topics from her home. Feat. A Well Thought Out Argument Against The License System Of FFXII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Aight! First off: I am SO sorry that this update took so long. I have excuses, and some might even say that they're /good/ excuses as they're family and health related, but I know no one wants excuses they want content. So content you shall have! This chapter was a bit harder to write because I really wasn't sure how to get reader from the end of chapter eight to where you will find her at the end of this chapter, but I did my best. Comments and Kudos are super appreciated!

I kept moving down the tracks and spotted another tiny mimic ahead.

“Someone else wanna do the honors of punting that lil bitch? Or should I do it again?” I looked over my shoulder and saw Basch’s confused look.

“If you use a sword why do you kick things?”

I froze mid-step and turned to raise an eyebrow at him.

“Why do I kick something that comes up to my ankles instead of slicing at it with something in my hand? Hmm, let me think about that one real quick.” I said, putting a finger to my chin and tapping it a couple times. “Oh yeah, because it just makes sense.”

“But licenses—” he started.

“Are fucking stupid,” I finished. He blinked a couple times and opened his mouth to argue but I kept talking. “Let’s say, let’s just  _ theorize _ here. Say that I have a license fooooooorrrrr,” I twirled my hand in the air as I drew the word out, thinking of an example.

“Let’s walk and talk. Let’s say I have a license for a sword, but I also have the ability to use magic and I know how to use other weapons. Also, I can kick things,” I added as I punted the tiny mimic across the tunnel and into a wall before taking the path to the right. I could see a bigger mimic farther down the path and I held my hand in the air palm up, summoning a ball of water to swirl above it.

“Now let’s say that I’m facing something that is nearly impervious to physical damage like swords. Why exactly would I keep trying to poke it with a stick when I have the ability to drown it in the middle of the desert? Just because a little piece of paper says that I can only use a sword?” I threw the ball of water towards the mimic and then pulled Stygian out and coated it in air magic, darting forward to slice one of the legs off.

“Your license system in this world is an absolute joke and I refuse to be bound by something so laughably ill conceived,” I finished with a grunt as I stabbed the blade of my sword into the mimics carapace. I looked over to Basch with a raised eyebrow as I brought my off hand up in front of me and twisted my wrist inward, clenching my fingers. The air magic coating my sword exploded outward, tearing the carapace into tiny chunks.

“I rest my case,” I said, twirling Stygian once before sliding it home. The energy the mimic had eaten flowed back into the lines and the lights brightened again.

“A compelling argument,” Balthier said with a smirk. I dipped my head slightly with a grin.

“Why thank you.”

The path to the right had been a dead end, so we backtracked and took the other path. I saw a steeling fluttering around in the air down the path with a tiny mimic right behind it.

“Ah!” I exclaimed happily, “Another perfect example. Why in any level of Dante’s Inferno would I try to swing a sword at something flying around my head when I can just—” I pushed my hand out and the steeling was caught in a sphere of water. The mimic started scuttling towards us like it thought it was gonna be able to do something.

“See? Isn’t that just so much more simple?”

“Then why don’t you just get a magic license instead?” Basch asked.

“Now see, I can see the logic there,” I said, humoring him for a second. I slammed my foot into the mimic, sending it flying as Balthier shot the steeling and finished it off. “But if for some reason I couldn’t use magic? Like if for instance…something was somehow able to nullify magic? Would you expect me to just stand there and twiddle my thumbs while whatever it was slaughtered me? All because a silly piece of paper says that I can only use magic?”

He didn’t seem to know how to respond.

“Because I can  _ assure you, _ that option is the one that I’m least likely to go with. That would be option ‘F’. For ‘Fuck no, I’m not doing this’. No, what would happen is that I’d take out Stygian and whatever I happen to name the dagger I find to replace this one, and I’d defend myself.”

“Alright, I see your point,” he conceded.

“Good. I’m not saying that you guys can’t use licenses, but I would like it if you’d respect my decision to…opt out.” I said as I drifted down a side tunnel. I punted another tiny mimic, this time straight into the bigger mimic beyond it. As soon as the mimic left my foot I reached out a hand and surrounded a steeling in a water bubble.

“You seem to be getting more and more adept with your control of the Mist,” Fran observed as she let an arrow loose on the big mimic I’d disrupted.

I grinned at her. “Thanks! Honestly, there was this show back in my world called  _ Naruto _ and I’m kinda just approaching it like the, uh…‘Mist’ on there. It’s working pretty well. Actually better than I thought it would if I’m being honest.”

“This…‘show’ had Mist as well?” Basch asked, slicing at the mimic. My lips twitched as I thought about it.

“Yes and no,” I said, dropping to a knee and slicing Stygian straight down the stomach of the mimic with a teasing grin. “It  _ did _ have something called Mist, but it was a town not a substance, and its full name was The Village Hidden in the Mist.”

As the mimic flopped over dead from Basch beheading it he turned to look at me.

“What?” He sounded absolutely confused and I giggled, turning to walk back the way we came.

“Don’t worry about it Captain, I’m just being a pain. I’m giving you details that have nothing to do with what you asked about because confusing people amuses me. No,  _ Naruto _ didn’t have ‘Mist’ as you think of it. It had chakra which I’m almost certain had fundamental differences. I’ll have to grab a book or two on Mist when we get back to Dalmasca and read up on it.”

Once back to the main track I turned left and led us farther into the tunnel system. At yet another fork in the tracks I spotted another tiny mimic and steeling and I reached out to surround the steeling with water before turning to kick the mini-mimic. It flew down the tunnel and out of sight and I grinned as Balthier shot the steeling down.

“That will never get old,” I whispered, turning to follow the branch in the path. The only thing that way was a chest and another mini-mimic which was swiftly introduced to my boot as Vaan opened the chest. Then we turned around to follow the tracks again.

The main tunnel of the track system was well illuminated so long as we kept the mimics away from the power cables, so it was easy to see another baby mimic farther down the track. There was a treasure chest on the track behind it and I could just barely make out a steeling flapping around behind that.

“So your world had something called a show that had something similar to Mist?” Vaan asked. I sighed as I ran ahead to soccer kick the tiny mimic down the tracks. I leaned against the nearby support pillar holding the roof up and crossed my arms, waiting for him to catch up and open the treasure chest.

“A show is…basically a bunch of pictures taken all at once so that it looks like the people are moving. And yeah, chakra is similar to the Mist as far as I can tell. At least if my adjustment to the Mist is anything to go by,” I told him when he got close to the chest. I reached a hand toward the steeling without looking and heard a splash of water.

“What else do you have that’s similar to something in our world?” He asked with a tinge of excitement in his voice. “I know when you first got here you mentioned that there are monarchies and kingdoms, and that there used to be empires,” he chattered on and I smiled. Balthier shot the steeling down as I pushed off the pillar and started walking again.

“Kingdom. Single,” I said, spotting an adult mimic on the tracks ahead. It seemed to be looking for an exposed wire. I drew Stygian slowly. “There was only one monarchy I knew of that went by the title of Kingdom, and it was comprised of four separate nations who were allied. The United Kingdom. Plus the crown had no real power, it was the Parliament that was the actual government. The royal family was basically just the figurehead as far as I knew, but I told you then and I’ll remind you now, Vaan; that wasn’t my country so I could be wrong about the details of its government.”

I sliced at the mimic at the same time as Basch, then spun out of the way of its leg coming down where I’d just been standing.

“What about your government, then?” Basch asked between swings. I felt my upper lip flatten out into a thin line, something a friend of mine had once pointed out to me. I heard his voice echo in my memory, “Dude, that’s your tell! Anytime I see your upper lip flatten out like that I know you’re in your feels.”

“Oh, America’s government was a fucking dumpsterfire,” I said with a dark laugh as I impaled the mimic. “It started out great, sure, but President Washington was right when he warned his successors against forming political parties. He believed it would end up tearing the country apart.”

“How so?” Balthier seemed equally interested and I sighed softly as I flicked my blade to the side, the mimic falling dead at our feet. We were standing next to a platform that had a hallway leading off of it, or we could continue down the railway tracks.

“Well he said, and I loosely quote; _ ‘The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism.’” _ I looked back and forth between the hallway on the platform and the tracks we were standing on, sheathing Stygian. “I probably missed a couple lines because it’s been years since my last government class; but basically what he meant is that when political party X defeated political party Y, party Y would hold a grudge over their loss. He was worried that the grudge held by a losing party might spark political unrest and would eventually lead to a breakdown of government.”

“And did it?” Basch asked, following me as I decided to continue down the tracks.

“That…depends on who you ask,” I responded slowly. “Let’s just say that things weren’t in the best shape when I…somehow ended up here. Anyway, moving on. Vaan mentioned Empires. I know a bit about government, but history fascinates me so it was always my best subject.”

We came to a large room that looked vaguely like it could have been a main terminal for the railway and spotted another adult mimic. Instead of sliding Stygian free I felt for the Mist and readied it.

“Empires were part of your history lessons?” Basch sounded in awe as I heard him and Vaan slide their weapons from their sheathes. I smiled.

“They were indeed. One of the most notable Empires in my world was the British Empire,” I said as the mimic took notice of us. It clicked and hissed and my smile turned vicious as I pushed one of my hands forward. A compressed blade of air rushed toward the mimic, slicing a gash in one of its legs.

“The United Kingdom is actually all that remains of the British Empire,” I took on my lecturing voice as I continued to send air blades at the mimic, alternating my hands with each one. History was something I adored, and it showed in my voice as I continued to talk.

“At the height of its strength, it was said that the sun never set on the British Empire. They had colonies as far east as the eastern coast of what’s known today as Australia, and as far west as what would someday become the United States of America which was on the other side of a great ocean.”

“You mean to say that your country won its freedom from the empire that had invaded it?” The hope I heard in Basch’s voice made me wince as I swung both my arms down across my body in an ‘X’, my magic following my movements.

“No, that’s not what I’m saying.” My magic sliced into the mimic creating an ‘X’ shaped gash and with one more swing from Vaan it flopped over onto the floor, lifeless.

“The British Empire did not invade the United States of America,” I explained softly as the others turned to look at me. “They colonized land that had no nationality, no government. There were indigenous tribes, yes, and it is very true that they brutalized the natives of the land. I’m in no way excusing them for that horror, nor for the horrors they visited upon the residents of any land they came across with the intent to colonize, but that’s not the point I’m trying to make.”

I looked Basch directly in the eyes. “It was not a country that the British Empire conquered, but rather its own colonies that rose in rebellion against unfair taxation on goods being shipped from England, the mother country. The colonies cast off their status as British Colonies, instead banding together as the United States of America.”

I watched as the hopeful light dimmed a little in his eyes and I sighed as I turned to investigate a side room off the tracks. There was a large gate cutting off any more forward progression with the tracks, so exploring was in order. There were two flans in the room and I grinned viciously when I saw them.

“That’s not to say that it  _ can’t _ be done, I’m just saying that it  _ wasn’t _ done by my country.” I pushed both hands forward, one toward each flan. They were engulfed in water. “Another fact to remember is that there was a great ocean separating the colonies from England.”

“Couldn’t they just use airships? Why is that ocean such an important detail?” Vaan sounded confused and Basch looked to share his sentiment as they moved to attack the flans.

“Airships in the sense that you’re referring to didn’t exist in my world,” I said, clenching my hands into fists to compress the water around the two flans. “Air travel wasn’t even a concept thought possible during the time period of the Revolutionary War.”

“Still, magic—” Basch started to say, halting when I shook my head. I let the water magic dissipate and the flans melted into the ground.

“Magic doesn’t exist in my world at all. It’s a fantasy element; something to make fiction stories more engaging and exciting.” Basch and Vaan blinked at me in shock as they sheathed their weapons. I’d told Vaan when he first found me that magic wasn’t something that was in my world, but he’d never asked me about airships and I’d never offered the information.

“Then how did the British cross the ocean?” Basch asked in confusion. “Did they have to go around it? And if magic doesn’t exist in your world how can you use the Mist?”

I huffed a laugh through my nose as I began to move farther into the room, my footfalls echoing off the stone walls and high ceilings. “One question at a time, please. Which would you like the answer to first?”

“Did they go around the ocean to reach their rebelling colonies?”

So Basch was more focused on how the colonies won their freedom. I could respect his determination.

“The shortest distance between two points is a straight line, Cap,” I said with a smile as Vaan opened a chest. “I’m fairly certain they didn’t know about the northern passage, but even if they had they would probably have frozen to death before they reached America, and there was no connected land to the south.”

“So then they crossed the ocean,” Vaan concluded for me. A flan popped up in the doorway to the next room and, without much thought, I pushed one of my hands forward to surround it in water following it up by swinging my other hand up to send an air blade slicing through the water and the flan. I walked through the doorway after the attack pushed the flan farther into the room and I heard the telltale crackle of electricity to my left. I didn’t need to look to know that there was a mimic feeding on another line next to the staircase leading up to a second level landing.

“In that time period water-faring ships would take as long as five weeks to cross the Atlantic Ocean.” I sent another air blade at the flan, then slid Stygian free and darted for the mimic, leaving the nearly dead flan for the others to finish off.

“So a round trip to report to superiors and then deliver orders back to troops could conceivably take up to three months.” I spun out of the way of a sudden attack by the mimic as I slashed Stygian out in retaliation, air magic coating the blade and sharpening the edge.

A shot rang out and an arrow buried itself in the mimic’s side. “In addition to all that; the French ended up getting involved, turning what had been basically a civil war into an international conflict and subsequently turning the tide of the war in favor of the colonies.” I wove water attacks in between my slashes and all too soon the mimic flopped over dead at my feet, the energy flowing back into the power line next to it.

Without missing a beat I started to climb the steps, surrounding the flan that tried to ambush me on the staircase in a sphere of water before slicing my magically sharpened Stygian diagonally through the sphere and the flan. Vaan followed my strike with an overhead one of his own, and Basch was close behind with the finishing blow.

I smirked at the two of them and slid Stygian back into its sheath. “We make a good team.”

They both blinked in surprise before Vaan narrowed his eyes and stepped away to put some distance between himself and Basch. I sighed and kept climbing the stairs, not wanting to deal with his attitude at that moment.

I stopped in the middle of the second floor landing and looked to my left. There was a hallway that led to a separate room, or the stairs continued up to a third level with another hallway. I squinted at it and could make out the shape of a doorway in the shadow of the hall, but it looked to be bricked off so I turned toward the hallway.

“Aren’t we going to see what’s up the stairs?” Vaan asked. I gave him a sideways look and crossed my arms, leaning all my weight on my right leg.

“Be my guest, but I’m staying here. I can’t see anything up there worth investigating.”

“It’s dark! How can you see anything at all up there?!” He protested, walking past me and up the stairs. I leaned against the wall next to the hallway we were in front of and yawned, not answering him. Balthier and Fran followed him to make sure if there was anything up there that he’d have back up, but a minute later they all came back down the stairs. Balthier sent me a small smirk, which told me I had been right. There had been nothing up there.

“All right, let’s go through this hallway,” Vaan agreed. I grinned and pushed off the wall to lead the way. The hall ended up leading into another multi-level room similar to the one we’d just been in. I heard crackling right inside the room out of my line of sight and I slid Stygian free again to dart around the corner, taking the mimic by surprise.

I sliced Stygian down, the magic on the blade slicing through the hard carapace like a warm knife through butter. The mimic was assaulted with my water magic in the next second, then Vaan stabbed his blade forward. I danced out of the way of one of its legs and stepped backwards just in time to avoid being bitten. An arrow sprouted from its body as I slashed one of its front legs off, followed by Balthier’s gun fire echoing off the walls. I winced and a breath hissed through my teeth at all the sounds overlapping.

When the mimic flopped over onto its side I shot Balthier a look.

“We really need to get you a quieter weapon when this is over,” I grumbled as I turned and started for the stairs to the first level. A flan popped up and I dealt with it the way I had dealt with the last two flans, surrounding it in water and then slicing at it with air magic. It died quickly, melting to the floor, and I wasted no time in descending the rest of the stairs.

The first level of the room was empty, but there was a darkened hallway to follow. Vaan grabbed a chest halfway down the hallway as I drew Stygian and readied the Mist in anticipation of the mimic that I could see at the other end of the dim hallway feeding on another wire.

“Man, they really need to get an electrician out here to get this place up to code,” I complained as I sent a blade of air flying at the mimic. “And maybe an exterminator too, because between all the exposed wires and the hordes of sparky spiders, this place is a building inspector’s worst nightmare. The moldy sentient pudding is a problem too.”

I heard two low sighs, one from Vaan and the other I assumed was from Balthier, before I dashed forward to attack the mimic. The air blade I’d sent ahead connected and the mimic turned to chitter angrily at me, slamming the tips of its feet into the ground to try to intimidate me.

“Ooh, you’re so scary,” I cooed at it mockingly as I got within slashing range. Stygian whipped to the side, slicing one of the legs out from under it.

“Just once, can you  _ not _ intentionally draw our enemy’s ire?” I heard Balthier call from behind me. I shot a grin at him as I twirled out of the way of the mimics other leg trying to impale me.

“But then I’d be disappointing my patron gods of warfare, Tony Stark and Deadpool!” I fought back my laughter at the mental picture of Deadpool wearing a toga and a laurel crown over his suit and pushed one of my hands forward to coat the mimic in water. Then I stabbed Stygian down into the mimic and brought my hand up in front of me.

“Who are Tony Stark and Deadpool? Are they righteous heroes who avenge the fallen,” Basch asked just as I twisted my wrist inward and the air magic coating Stygian exploded outwards. I stumbled forward when the mimic flopped over dead as my brain processed what he’d just asked me and I felt a hand grab my shoulder to steady me. I slid Stygian back into its sheath.

Then I started laughing.

“Ave— Righteous—” Every time I tried to speak I laughed harder, stumbling through the next room without paying much attention to it. There were stairs on the far side and no enemies, that was all I needed to notice.

“Are you…okay?” I heard Vaan ask me hesitantly. I laughed harder.

“It’s just—” I choked out, starting up the stairs. “The thought of—” Two flans popped up at the top of the stairs and I pushed both of my hands out to engulf them both in water, letting Vaan and Basch rush past me to take care of them. I felt a hand settle itself on my lower back and I looked up through the tears gathering in my eyes to see Balthier looking at me worriedly.

I fought to get my laughter back under control and by the time Vaan and Basch finished the flans off they turned around to find me breathing deeply, trying to reign in the last of my hysterical laughter.

“Sorry about that,” I said through another giggle. “It’s just the thought of— The thought of Deadpool— being described as…” I broke down into more giggles before finally forcing the words out. “A righteous hero who avenges the fallen.” I fell into laughter once more before straightening back up and wiping a tear away.

“So he’s not a hero?” Basch asked me in confusion, “Then why do you regard him as your patron god of warfare?”

“He’s not a hero as you would think of it,” I said as I walked up the rest of the stairs and passed him to inspect a switch on the wall behind him. “He’s an anti-hero.”

“So he’s a…villain?” Vaan asked.

“No, if he was a villain I would have said he’s a villain. Deadpool is an anti-hero,” I repeated, reaching out and pushing the button. It was kind of rusted and hard to push, but I heard a click from the device and a rumble echo through the tunnel.

“Alright, what’s an anti-hero?” Balthier asked. I turned with a smile and started leading the way back to where we came from.

“An anti-hero is…in the most general sense, it’s a main character who is lacking the conventional heroic qualities such as a moral code. Someone who blurs the line between moral and amoral, between good and evil, between right and wrong.” I explained as I bounced down the stairs. “Deadpool is basically just a mercenary who can’t be killed and uses that fact to be as chaotic as possible. He’s a Chaotic Neutral character alignment and that speaks to me on a spiritual level.” We were going back through the dim hallway from before, and Basch spoke up again.

“Character alignment?”

“Basically his morals and ethics based on the choices he’s made in his life. Wade Wilson, the man who becomes Deadpool, is a highly trained special-forces-soldier-turned-mercenary who doesn’t kill kids and doesn’t take payments from victims of abuse, but he kills people he sees as evil without hesitation and if you think  _ I _ have a dirty mouth you ain’t seen nothin’.” I said as I led the way up the stairs and down the hall into the first mimic room we had been through.

“So the other person you named, this…Tony Stark. Is he an anti-hero too?” I came to an immediate halt as Avenger’s Endgame played through my mind. I turned to face Basch, frowning at him.

“Tony Stark is  _ many _ things, but an anti-hero is not one of them,” I whispered. “He is a narcissist, he is an egomaniac, he is snarky and sassy and cocky, he is a genius billionaire playboy philanthropist, he is Chaotic Good, he is an Avenger, he is Iron Man, and he is a true hero.” I turned and continued back down the stairs. I turned into the room just off the tracks that the first two flans we’d fought down here had been in and saw that two floating fireballs with stubby arms, beady eyes, and needle-like teeth had shown up in their place.

My hands shot forward and balled into fists just as water spheres formed around the things that I was 90% sure were this world’s version of bomb enemies and started compressing.

“Be careful, those are bombs!” I heard Basch call to me and I grinned maniacally, letting my battle persona engulf me to wash away the sadness from Basch asking if Tony was an anti-hero.

“Fantastic. I’ve been wanting to see some explosions,” I replied.

“What, did the Ifrit not satisfy you on our way out of the palace?” Balthier asked, laughter in his voice. I grinned over at him.

“There can  _ never _ be too many explosions, my dear Sparrow,” I practically purred at him as I sent air blades flying at both of the bombs. I held my hands at my sides and conjured multiple water javelins to float in the air around me, aiming for the bombs.

“I’d move if I were you,” I called to Vaan and Basch. They turned and their eyes went wide as they scampered out of the way.

I threw one hand forward and half of the water javelins shot toward one of the bombs. It shook violently and started to expand like it was about to explode and the other one did the same.

“Oh, no you don’t!” I growled as I threw my other hand forward, the other half of the water javelins shot toward the second bomb. “You’re not about to use Self Destruct on  _ us _ you bargain brand Voltorbs,” I yelled. In the next second all the water javelins pierced their targets and the bombs fell to the ground, dimming before disappearing entirely.

“Bargain brand Voltorbs?” Vaan asked warily. I smirked.

“Voltorb is one of the most annoying Pokemon to catch, solely because it has a move called Self Destruct. It blows up and deals immense damage to your Pokemon, fainting itself in the process.

“How did you know it would do that,” Basch asked.

“You learn to just not ask how she knows the things she does,” Vaan sighed in defeat, following me out onto the tracks. The huge gate that had been blocking us from following the tracks any farther had been raised and the way was clear. I led the way down the tracks, looking up to the high ceiling where the gate had retracted to as we walked under it.

On the other side Basch found the remains of someone who’d met their demise down here, probably at the hands of mimics, and started appropriating their armor. I wrinkled my nose in disgust, but I figured armor was better than running around with no shoes or shirt and pants that were all ripped to hell, so I didn’t say anything.

“The Mist seethes,” Fran whispered. I closed my eyes and felt for the energy I’d been manipulating to cast my magic, surprised to find that I could feel what she was talking about. If I concentrated I could feel the way it hung in the air around me like an aura, but never actually touched my body unless I directed it to do so. Now if I just knew  _ why _ …

“It reeks,” Balthier agreed. “Something’s close.” My eyes snapped open to stare at him.

_ ‘He can… smell the Mist?’ _

_ ‘Maybe. That’s a question for another time, though. Vaan’s about to pick a fight.’ _

My eyes shifted to watch the boy who’d basically become my brother as he stewed in his resentment of the man we’d been travelling with.

_ ‘Well, I guess now’s as good a time as any to take care of this issue.’ _

_ ‘I don’t think we have much of a choice either way.’ _

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who didn't know: Balthier's English voice actor has stated that he took inspiration from Han Solo, Jack Sparrow, and James Bond when voicing Balthier. Reader has noticed the "Jack Sparrow-y" bits of his personality and has latched onto that to give her a nickname for him, but she'll probably also reference Solo for him as well because -I mean really- he's basically Han Solo. Plus she's read the chapter that Green's reader character meets him and she literally says "otherworldly Han Solo." soooo it just makes sense :)


	10. Ground Gladius

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basch's past, underground lakes, and Spider Queens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have... no excuse for why this took so long. Other than getting super sidetracked with plot bunnies.

“Oh good, you’ve found a replacement sword,” Vaan muttered, noticing the weapon laying on the ground. “Now you can return the one you’ve been using and we can go our separate ways. I’d rather go back to the dungeons than stay in a group with a traitor any longer.”

“Oh my  _ SHIT, _ would you stop and  _ think _ for five seconds?!” I hissed at him suddenly.

“I don’t have to think. My brother  _ saw _ him kill King Raminas!”

“That sounds an awful lot like you didn’t personally see a fucking thing. There’s always another angle to every story, Vaan. Try getting all of them instead of making a snap judgement based on something you didn’t even see with your own eyes.”

Basch picked up the sword off the ground, testing the balance and ignoring us until I turned to him.

“You wanna tell us why the Empire had you on ice down here, Capsicle?” My voice was gentle and Basch froze, mid swing. I continued. “No matter how I look at it, it doesn’t make sense for them to keep you prisoner. There’s something I’m missing.”

All he did was blink at me as I leaned against the wall of the tunnel, waiting for him to tell us his story.

“What do you mean, ‘something you’re missing’?” Balthier questioned. I turned to glare at him.

“If you’d think about it  _ logically _ you’d have noticed it too. You’re more than capable of figuring out the same thing I have,” I snapped. “You both are, if you’d just get past your fucking prejudice.” I spared a glance at Vaan before turning back to Basch.

“Balthier called you a kingslayer,” I began bluntly, watching Basch wince and sheathe the sword. I kept talking before he could try to defend himself. “Yet, any way I look at it that doesn’t make sense. If you killed a former Emperor my friends probably wouldn’t be so pissed at you, but the Empire would have most likely killed you, not captured you and left you in a dungeon to rot.”

“That’s because he didn’t—” Vaan started to interject.

“I’m not finished, Vaan,” I cut him off with a snarl, then focused on Basch with a smile to continue in a calm voice. “On the other hand, if you killed the king of a country  _ resisting _ the Empire…what reason would the Empire have for locking you up or sending Judges to interrogate you? They would be rewarding you for your service, maybe even giving you a high ranking position in their army.”

Everyone was silent as my words sunk in. After a moment I whispered, “So what is it? What am I missing, Captain? Why are you down here?”

He sighed. “I did not kill my king, nor did I kill your brother, Vaan. I give you my word.” He sat with his back to the tunnel wall next to where I stood as he started his story, his voice laced with regret.

“That night…Reks and I had to fight through waves of Imperials. We ended up having to split up and…I was cornered. I fought them off to the best of my abilities, but I was still captured. I was forced to watch on from the shadows as my twin brother took my place and killed my king. Reks appeared shortly after that and saw who he believed to be me standing over the king’s body. It is my brother who is to blame for killing yours, Vaan.”

“A twin brother, fancy that,” Balthier said. “Still, the pieces fit.”

I clenched my fists tight and my eyes narrowed.

“I don’t believe you,” Vaan whispered with his back to us.

“Of course not,” Basch agreed. “It was my fault that Reks was there. I’m sorry.”

My voice was a growl when I finally spoke up.

“So you mean to tell me…” The air in the tunnel around us seemed to get heavier as my mind raced through the details of the story and brought back seemingly irrelevant things it had held onto from the conversation we’d overheard with the Judge. “You mean to tell me that your own  _ twin _ betrayed you, framed you for treason and regicide, and left you in Tartarus to rot?”

“Uh…what’s Tartarus?” Vaan asked.

“Irrelevant,” I growled. “And then after all that, he was given the rank of  _ Imperial Judge _ and he uses an order to interrogate you as an excuse to come and fucking  _ mock you?” _

Everyone turned to look at me, surprise on their faces.

“How…how could you know that it was him?” Basch whispered.

I scoffed. “Please, all I had to do was imagine what you would look like if you hadn’t been locked in the deepest darkest pit the Empire could find for the past two years. Once I did that and factored in what he said to you before he left you hanging above the pit it was fairly obvious that the Judge who was sent to interrogate you was your own twin brother.”

“I still don’t believe him,” Vaan cried stepping forward toward Basch. Balthier intercepted him. It seemed like it was harder for them to move with the slightly suffocating atmosphere.

“Believe what you want. Whatever it takes to make you happy,” he said before turning and walking past Basch and I to go deeper into the tunnels. “What’s done is done,” he told us lowly. I snorted and turned to Basch.

“Done or not, the next time we run into him I’ll kill him myself.” Surprise showed on his face at my declaration. “Siblings should have each other's backs. Especially twins. That your own twin would leave you stranded in a soul-sucking pit like Tartarus without a shred of remorse tells me that he’s the lowest type of human.”

“While I appreciate the offer, I would rather he be left alive. Without him there would be no way to prove my innocence,” Basch said softly. I hummed in response.

“I suppose you have a good point there,” I finally agreed, turning to follow Balthier and Fran. Vaan followed me close behind, silent, presumably thinking over the whole exchange. The heavy atmosphere appeared to follow us and while I could  _ feel _ the weight, it didn’t seem to affect me like it did the others. Their movements seemed to be slightly slower than they had been before, whereas my movements were just as fluid and fast as always.

As I tried to puzzle it out, my rage at Basch’s twin fell out of the forefront of my mind.

“Finally,” Vaan groaned. “I don’t know what was up with that section of the tunnel, but I’m glad we’re out of there.”

“What are you talking about, Vaan?” I asked distractedly. The heavy feeling was fading fast and I still hadn’t figured out where it had come from in the first place.

“Did you not notice how difficult it was to breathe back there?” Basch asked me. I narrowed my eyes in thought.

“Hard to breathe?” I echoed as Vaan opened a chest leaning against a wall. We came into a large open room with a giant gate to our right that would keep us from following what seemed to be the main tracks. Straight ahead was what looked like a side tunnel with tracks running that way as well.

“I didn’t notice it being hard to breathe, but I noticed a heavy feeling in the air and that you all seemed to be moving slower than normal,” I said casually, as I looked around the room in curiosity. There were a lot of fallen rocks and I could see a couple chests too. Balthier glanced over at me.

“You mean it didn’t affect you at all?”

I shrugged as Vaan walked forward to open the closest chest. “I mean…it kinda just felt like someone had dropped a weighted blanket on me? It was more of a comfort than a hindrance to me.”

“Wah! What the—” Vaan cut off anything Balthier might have said in reply with a startled yelp. He cut himself off before any fun words came out and I snickered as I drew Stygian and my dagger.

“Really, Vaan? Your treasure chest turns into a monster and I still can’t get you to say the ‘fuck’ word?” I teased as I darted toward the mimic that had disguised itself. It died just as quickly as the others.

I heard the telltale crackle of a mimic feeding off the power lines over to my left and I sent an air blade flying that way without looking. Vaan and Basch turned to charge at the mimic while I strolled casually behind the group, whistling a song I had stuck in my head. I lifted a hand and surrounded the mimic in a sphere of water, then sent a blade of air flying at the sphere to cut it in half.

It died.

_ ‘If we could heal like Brick's reader character then you could just let them kill all these stupid spiders and heal them afterwards.’ _

Vaan went to another treasure chest, only for it to be a mimic too. I heaved a sigh as I threw blades of air at it.

_ ‘Yes, but there’s that tricky little fact of drowning in Light to heal like that. No one I’m around would be able to counteract that because they were or are going to be summoned by Materia.’ _

_ ‘You don’t know that for sure about Basch.’ _

I snorted and looked over to the man in question as he swung his blade at the mimic.

_ ‘Dude. Look at him. Really look at him and tell me with a straight face that he would be summoned by Spiritus.’ _

_ ‘I can’t. I’m your brain, I don’t have a face.’ _

I pursed my lips as the mimic fell over dead.

_ ‘…Sounds to me like a weak ass excuse.’ _

_ ‘Why do I put up with you?’ _

_ ‘Because you’re me. Duh.’ _

I watched on in silent boredom as Vaan opened two  _ actual _ chests in a row before running into another mimic chest. Immediately I surrounded it with water, then left it for the others to take care of. I was tired and hungry and emotionally exhausted.

Vaan moved on to another chest after that one and I readied myself to use more magic, only to be pleasantly surprised by it being a real chest. I let my eyes slip closed as I released the Mist and reached up to rub my temples with a sigh. The buzz of electricity was taking its toll on me too.

“Is something wrong?” I lifted my head in surprise to see Basch looking at me, worry clear in his eyes.

_ ‘Oh yes, brain, he’s definitely one of Spiritus’ warriors.’ _

_ ‘Point taken.’ _

“Nothing, I’m just being rudely reminded by both my stomach  _ and _ my head of how long it’s been since I’ve eaten or slept,” I told him with a strained smile as I lowered my hand.

“Perhaps we should rest then,” Basch suggested. I shook my head.

“There’s no food down here. I can go a while without sleep so long as I have a distraction, but my blood sugar is going to crash soon and hard if we don’t get out of here and find some food.”

He looked unsure but Vaan piped up.

“She’s right. Over the past few weeks since I found her I’ve seen her go for over a day and a half without sleep without even realizing it because she was focused on something.” Basch looked vaguely impressed at that. “But the one time I saw her go more than a couple days without food she was so shaky and weak that I had to carry her to the tavern. It really scared Migelo, Tomaj, and Penelo.”

I glared over at him.

“Yes, please continue to tell them my embarrassing weaknesses. Also, don’t pretend that you weren’t scared too,” I snipped moodily. “You were mothering over me more than the three of them combined.”

“It is nothing to be ashamed of,” Basch said kindly. “Everyone needs to eat.”

“Maybe so, but all the same we should move on before I end up needing to be carried out of here too,” I muttered as I started down the side tunnel. Balthier stayed close to me and I wondered if it was coincidence or if the previous conversation had worried him.

Soon the tunnel opened up into a huge cavern and we were spotted by two mimics almost immediately. One of them ran off farther into the cavern while the other moved to attack us. I held out a hand, sending three air blades in quick succession and at slightly different angles to fly at the mimic.

I spotted a baby mimic running at Vaan and after a split second of debate on whether to punt it or just catch it in a water sphere I dashed forward. My boot connected with it hard and I watched in delight as it flew off the cliff edge that I’d just noticed we were fighting next to and out over the huge underground lake.

I grinned as I took in the sight and my laugh broke the air as I saw a splash on the water’s surface below. The tiny mimic had flown a long way before landing in the lake. I turned back to find the adult mimic dead and Vaan shaking his head while the others watched me carefully.

“What?” I asked, crossing my arms.

“You nearly panic over crossing some running water—”

“Those grates were sketchy as shit, Vaan, don’t at me.”

“—but you’ll stand on the edge of a cliff above a lake that’s who knows how deep and  _ laugh?” _

“Your point?” Something tugged lightly in my memory, but I couldn’t place what it was so I let it go.

Vaan sighed and turned to open the two chests on the cliff before making his way toward the mimic that had run off to feed on a power line a short ways away. I stepped away from the cliff to follow him, catching Balthier let out a sigh from the corner of my eye.

“What is this about crossing running water?” Basch seemed intrigued and I grinned over at him.

“Oh  _ yeah, _ you don’t know what landed us in Nalbina,” I said, slamming my foot into another tiny mimic to send it flying over the lake.

I happily launched into an epic retelling of my journey with Vaan through the Garamsythe Waterway to break into the castle vault as our group dispatched the mimic that had fled. Then we set our sights on a blue gigantoad with large horns.

I was relying fairly heavily on my magic at this point, I could feel a weakness starting in the tips of my fingers and knew my grip on my blades would be faltering soon. I continued with my story, using it to distract myself.

“We found the signet tile after my mentally deranged brother decided to lead the groups of guards away from their posts, because that definitely wouldn’t have backfired—”

“It worked, didn’t it?” Vaan asked defensively.

“And I still don’t fucking know how, Kid. I’d say it was luck, but everything that happened after that was a shit-show so I highly doubt that luck had anything to do with it.”

“The gods maybe?” Basch suggested and I fell silent for a moment as I contemplated that.

_ ‘Don’t the gods play a huge part in why Vayne is the antagonist?’ _

_ ‘They have something to do with his plan, at the very least…’ _

_ ‘What was it he said?’ _

_ ‘That he… aimed to free us from their grasp…’ _

I let out a soft hiss when I realized he was probably right. But instead of them only letting us  _ in, _ they more than likely orchestrated the whole thing.

“Gods are a touchy subject for her,” Vaan said.

“I apologize,” Basch started, but I cut him off with a wave.

“You couldn’t have known, I haven’t even explained  _ why _ they’re a touchy subject to anyone yet.”

“May I ask—”

“I have my reasons. Anyway—” I continued with the story as we followed the cliff around as it descended to the edge of the lake. The rock that the tracks had been laid on had crumbled into the lake at some point, leaving the cliff as our only option.

We found another two of the blue-skinned gigantoads at the water’s edge.

“And then Balthier decided that to get away from the Imperials it would be a good idea to throw my brother off the palace wall,” I sent a half-hearted glare at him.

“You intended to repay me for that,” he said cheekily. “And it was a solid punch. If I hadn’t caught it you might have done some damage.”

“He  _ threw Vaan off the palace wall?” _ Basch’s voice was laced with clear disbelief and I laughed as I sent multiple air blades at the gigantoad we hadn’t killed yet.

“Oh that’s not even the best part; after he caught my punch, he took me and threw us both off too.”

“He  _ what?!” _ Basch turned to stare at Balthier who shrugged.

“I trusted Fran to catch me, and I knew I could catch Vaan,” the sky-pirate said as he looked over at me. I grinned.

“I’m not complaining. The adrenaline rush was fantastic and none of us were hurt.”

_ ‘Also being trapped against his chest helped.’ _

_ ‘Yes, with your thirsty ass I’m sure it did.’ _

_ ‘It’s your thirsty ass too.’ _

The gigantoad died and Vaan went to open the chest next to the water as I continued with the story. We ended up having to backtrack up the cliffs a little ways, but we spotted a fork in the path leading upwards that I’d missed while I’d been filling Basch in on our escapades. I’d glossed over the stealing part of the story, though I was sure Basch was smart enough to figure out we’d taken  _ something _ while we’d been in the vault.

There was a tiny mimic in our way that I quickly introduced to my boot when it tried to attack us, then we were fighting another mimic to keep the power in the lines instead of in its stomach.

I trapped it in water and sent air blades at it as I told Basch about meeting Amalia and how stuck up she’d been. We climbed the rest of the way up the path as I told him about the fight with the Flan Mother.

“I beg your pardon… You… _ taunted _ a giant Flan?” Basch asked me incredulously as the cavern path came out into another platform next to train tracks. The only way we could go was to the right. Balthier sighed.

“She did. It was  _ incredibly _ reckless,” he aimed the words at me and I stuck my tongue out.

“It’s not like I was gonna let my friends get hurt. Or my reluctant ally.”

“We really should do something about your self-sacrificing,” Basch sighed as I led the way down the tracks. We came to a room with what  _ looked _ like a bunch of chests, but I wasn’t buying it. Especially not with the greenish goop pouring from the ceiling. Then another “chest” fell to the floor inside the goop, confirming my suspicions. Those weren’t chests, they were mimics.

“Alright, now that’s just disgusting,” I muttered, wrinkling my nose as I halted at the edge of the room, looking up to see an enormous mimic above us. It looked like it was  _ birthing _ the regular sized mimics and I scrubbed a hand over my face. “Someone please bring me some eye bleach, because I don’t think I’ll  _ ever _ be able to unsee that.”

The mimics on the floor all scattered to exposed wires at four different points in the room as the Mimic Queen screeched angrily. As gross as it had been to watch it give birth to its brood, the Queen was beautiful.

If it hadn’t been alive it would have looked like a breathtaking metalwork statue with stained glass and iridescent material inlay. The metal of the body was a bronze color, which accented the reds and yellows along the main body as well as the blues and greens along its legs.

It was alive though, so that took away from the aesthetic slightly. I definitely wasn’t a fan of spiders.

The gate fell shut behind us and I groaned.

_ ‘Of course it’s a boss battle. I should have seen it coming, really.’ _

I looked up at the boss and slid easily into a bracing stance, letting my arms stay relaxed. I was probably going to be doing a lot of Mist control for this fight.

“Alright, Arachne,” I said as I stretched my neck to try to relieve the pressure building from all the electrical noise in the room. “Let’s get this over with.”

She screeched again, stomping her metal legs angrily and I gathered a wall of Mist to wash in a tidal wave across the floor. All the tiny mimics that had been scuttling around under the feet of the Queen were caught up in my water attack and slammed into the opposite wall where they didn’t get up again.

The song I’d had stuck in my head started to flow out into the large open room, the crackle of the electric lines was just background noise as I focused on my song and my magic.

_ “I have no heart, _ _   
_ _ Just ice and stone. _ _   
_ _ Made up of nails and teeth and bone.” _

I focused my air magic to make two scythe shaped blades at my sides, letting them hover next to me.

_ “And I know exactly what I’m for, _ _   
_ _ To hurt and destroy and nothing more. _ _   
_ _ And if it’s true that I was made, _ _   
_ _ I still don’t know if I can change.” _

I shot forward, weaving between Vaan and Basch as my voice echoed high into the ceiling.

_ “But something has stirred, _ _   
_ _ A beast has awakened. _ _   
_ _ Opened a door, _ _   
_ _ There’s no mistaking, _ _   
_ _ Waging a war. _ _   
_ _ It’s fighting inside of me.” _

I slashed at the queen with my air scythes. With the next lines, entirely on instinct, I turned to the regular sized mimics on one edge of the room and slammed my foot down.

_ “So hear my _ _   
_ _ Battle cry, _ _   
_ _ I’m out for blood to claim what’s mine.” _

As I slammed my foot down earthen spikes rose up out of the ground in a shockwave, headed toward the mimics I’d targeted. They were all impaled and I swung my arm around to send a wide arc of air flying toward them. I turned back to the Queen.

_ “Finally, _ _   
_ _ Questioning. _ _   
_ _ If I am my own worst, _ _   
_ _ I am my own worst, _ _   
_ _ I am my own worst enemy.” _

I morphed one of my air scythes into a water scythe, then made a third scythe from my new element. The scythes circled me lazily as I slammed my foot down again, sending earth spikes to another group of mimics that were feeding on another power line.

_ “I never thought that I could love, _ _   
_ _ Strangers at night were good enough. _ _   
_ _ But love’s not a thing you get to choose! _ _   
_ _ Try to resist, _ _   
_ _ You’ll always lose.” _

The mimics were caught in individual spheres of water as I turned and started slashing at the queen again with my elemental scythes.

_ “I made a deal to sell my soul, _ _   
_ _ But lately I have dared to hope. _ _   
_ _ That something has stirred, _ _   
_ _ A beast has awakened. _ _   
_ _ Opened a door, _ _   
_ _ There’s no mistaking, _ _   
_ _ Waging a war. _ _   
_ _ It’s fighting inside of me.” _

I knelt down, reaching behind me to touch my fingertips to the ground, then I stood and swung my arm down and forward in an arc.

“ _ So hear my _ _   
_ _ Battle cry, _ _   
_ _ I’m out for blood to claim what’s mine. _ _   
_ _ Finally, _ _   
_ _ Questioning _ _   
_ _ If I am my own worst, _ _   
_ _ I am my own worst _ _   
_ _ I am my own worst enemy. _ ”

When my arm was at a perfect 90 degree angle to the rest of my body, I curled my fingers into a fist and a single larger earth spike shot out of the ground. It shattered one of the joints of the Queen and severed the leg from its body.

The air stirred around us as I began the next verse, caressing my allies while cutting the mimics.

_ “Tell my secrets to the wind, _ _   
_ _ Flying I feel infinite… _ _   
_ _ ‘Cause something has stirred, _ _   
_ _ A beast has awakened. _ _   
_ _ Opened a door, _ _   
_ _ There’s no mistaking, _ _   
_ _ Waging a war. _ _   
_ _ It’s fighting inside of me.” _

I dashed forward again, all three of my scythes aimed with deadly precision.

_ “So hear my _ _   
_ _ Battle cry, _ _   
_ _ I’m out for blood to claim what’s mine.” _

The Queen let out an ear-piercing shriek that echoed through the tunnels in some kind of perverse death knell.

The room started quaking and I grabbed Vaan’s wrist and bolted through the gate that had opened up, easily keeping up with Balthier. He still reached back to wrap his hand around mine and tug me forward, making sure I didn’t fall behind.

The tunnel we’d fled down ended in a set of stairs that led outside. As I stood there with my eyes closed and my face tilted toward the sky, basking in the sunlight next to Balthier, I let the last words of the song I’d been singing flow into the silence in crisp, clear notes.

_ “Finally, _ _   
_ _ Questioning, _ _   
_ _ If I am my own worst, _ _   
_ _ I am my own worst, _ _   
_ _ I am my own worst enemy…” _

“You may be,” Balthier agreed softly. “But you are a magical menace to anyone who would cross you, it seems.” I looked over to see his pale green eyes sparkling in the sun as he gazed down at me with interest and thinly veiled concern.

“To think, Dalmascan air could taste so sweet,” Basch said as he took a deep breath, unknowingly breaking the trance I’d found myself in. I shook my head and looked over to him.

“I’d think  _ any _ fresh air regardless of nationality would be sweet after hanging in a pit, wasting away for two years. But you do you, Cap.”

“Perhaps, but Dalmascan air means freedom,” he said with a smile. I hummed in response, not about to debate with him over it.

“Where are we?” Vaan asked as he walked back over to us.

“In the  _ desert, _ what does it look like?” I snipped, scowling at the sand around me.

“What is wrong with the desert,” Basch asked, not realizing what would happen. I took a deep breath, ready to go on a tirade on the subject when Vaan quickly cut me off.

“Please, for the love of the gods, do  _ not _ get her started. We’ll be here for a week.”

My jaw snapped shut with a click of my teeth and I glared at him.

“Will someone who actually knows where we are answer my question?” Vaan demanded with a scowl.

“The Estersand, by the look of it,” Balthier said as he looked around. “Let’s back to Rabanastre before we shrivel up—”

“Or need to be carried,” Vaan interjected, glancing at me.

The previously still air shifted towards Vaan.

“Do you really want to go there, little brother?” The threat was empty, but Vaan still backed up a step.

“You’re scary when you’re hungry.”

The air stilled again immediately as I blinked in shock. Then I broke into laughter.

“You should get me a Snickers then,” I said, laughing at my own joke since I knew no one else would understand it. Balthier cut in with an exasperated sigh.

“By your leave, Captain.”

“Yes,” Basch agreed, turning in the direction of Rabanastre. “The hour of my return is already over late. The people may hate me, but that does not free me of my charge.”

I scowled at the sand, following the captain if only for the promise of food and sleep that being back in Rabanastre held.

There were plenty of monsters to keep us occupied on the way back to the city, but with the five of us they fell rather quickly. Vaan eventually noticed the tremor in my hands that I’d been trying to hide and told me to stay behind Balthier and save my strength.

Close to the gate I spotted a rogue tomato and my attention sharpened.

“Vaaaaaaaaaaan,” I drawled, a malicious smile forming on my face. He looked back to me and sighed.

“I really don’t like that look. What is it,” he said, following my gaze. When he saw my target he groaned. “Really? You’re  _ still _ holding that grudge?”

_ “Tomato Bitch,” _ I hissed in delight, stepping around Balthier.

“What… is she doing?” Basch asked warily. Vaan sighed deeply.

“When she first showed up outside Rabanastre, a rogue tomato was the first thing she saw aside from the sand. She thought she was hallucinating,” he explained as he watched me attack the tomato with my magic. “As you can see, she hasn’t quite forgiven the rogue tomato population as a whole for that.”

Once the tomato was dead I rejoined the group with a bright smile.

“I feel so much better now,” I told them happily, taking my place near Balthier again.

“I’m sure that will make that rogue tomato rest easier, knowing his life ended to make you feel better,” Vaan quipped.

I smiled blandly in reply. “Good.”

When we finally stepped onto the cobblestone of the Rabanastre city’s East Gate, Basch sighed.

“I thank you,” he said, looking relieved to be home.

“I’d avoid crowds if I were you. In this town you’re still a traitor, you know,” Balthier suggested.

“The Resistance will find me soon,” he replied, then turned to Vaan. “Fates will, we meet again. I would pay my respects to your brother.”

“Be seein’ ya, Cap.” I gave the man a two finger salute as he turned to walk away.

I formed an air current to swirl around me and get any lingering sand off my clothes. The display was met with deadpan looks from my friends and I sighed.

“I can’t handle sand, please forgive me. Also, I’d like to go for a walk while you find Penelo. I need to… decompress.”

“You’re already shaking,” Vaan told me. “And you had been for who knows how long before I noticed. You shouldn’t waste your energy until you get some food in you.”

“Alright, fine. I’ll take some gil and go to my favorite fruit stand in the market, how does that sound,” I gave in with a grumble.

“Better than nothing,” Vaan said with a sigh. “We’ll be in the tavern. Just…be careful. We just got back to town so don’t draw attention to yourself.”

“If you’re splitting from our group, then I fear this will be the last we see of each other,” Balthier said. “Once I retrieve my handkerchief from your small blonde friend Fran and I are leaving. You can keep the stone, it’s ill-favored anyway.”

“We feel regret,” Fran said. “We sought that stone and found ourselves only worry.” I smiled.

“We’ll see about that, Sparrow. In case you’re right, then I hope someday you find true happiness. If I’m right, and something happens that keeps you with us a while longer, I’ll see you soon,” I walked away with a wink and a wave over my shoulder, heading for the market as I flipped the hood of my jacket up.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As the chapter title might suggest to any Seven Deadly Sins fans, the earth spike that shatters the Mimic Queen's leg is basically Diane's Ground Gladius ^-^  
> The song that Reader sings during the Mimic Queen fight is called "Battle Cry" and was written by Beth Crowley. Reader sings the Nightcore version as it's slightly faster and closer to her pitch range. Both versions are fantastic though. If you want to hear them, they can be found here:
> 
> Nightcore: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jp09ktChKOo  
> Original: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7H9A4996g4U


	11. Telling Secrets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's this? Two updates from me in less than 24 hours? Am I sick?

I sighed softly as I made my way toward the market. Vaan was such a mother hen about me at times; a far cry from how he’d treated me when I first showed up in this world. Now, even though I could hold my own and I’d proven it on many occasions, he worried and fretted over me like a little sister. Which was hilarious since I was six years older than him.

Although, if I had to guess, I’d say it was because he’d lost his older brother; who had been an actual trained soldier instead of a pacifistic world-hopper with a penchant for sarcasm and an attitude problem. That made it significantly less hilarious.

As I wove through the crowds on the streets of Rabanastre I skillfully avoided bumping or brushing against anyone. Vaan had said not to draw attention to myself and that was something I could be very good at when I wanted to be.

I dropped by my favorite fruit stand, buying a couple oranges with the gil I had on me. The vendor had been somewhat surprised to see me, but with a wink and a finger against my lips he got the gist and smiled.

“I am glad to see you are well, please stay safe, Miss.”

I laughed softly, waving as I walked away.

“I’ll do my best!”

Once the crowd had closed between us I started peeling one of the oranges, dropping the peel back into the sack the merchant had given me. I wasn’t sure why, but peeling oranges and separating them had always been somewhat calming. Therapeutic even. I let my mind wander as I peeled, not exactly paying attention to where my feet were taking me and letting my subconscious keep me from bumping into anyone.

Someway, somehow, I’d ended up close to the palace and had been staring at the extravagant facade for a good while as I munched on my orange slices when I heard footsteps approaching from my left. My hair perpetually covered that side of my face, so even if my hood hadn’t been up I still would’ve had to turn to see who was coming. I didn’t do anything, hoping that if I just ignored the footsteps then whoever they belonged to would leave me alone.

Apparently my luck was trash, because they came to a stop right next to me.

I stayed silent and ate another orange slice while I continued to stare at the castle, hoping whoever it was would take the hint and go away. My luck was worse than I’d thought. After a few moments of silence filled only by me eating the last slice of the first orange I’d peeled, the person spoke and I felt every muscle in my body tense simultaneously at the deep, rich voice that rumbled from my left.

“Here I thought that a sentence to Nalbina dungeons was supposed to be for far longer than a day,” he said casually.

I cleared my throat and forced my muscles to relax as I thought of a reply. I decided to jump head-first into the shit-storm that awaited me.

“Yes, well, you’ll come to find that few things can hold me where I don’t wish to be held, Vayne.” My voice was light and a small smirk appeared on my lips as I glanced over at him.

“No more Lord Solidor, then? Did throwing you in a dungeon ease your formalities? Or did it make you decide to join the insurgence after all?” His question made me laugh softly.

“No, I just have the feeling that our acquaintance has risen past the need for titles.”

“And what exactly would give you the impression that I would be acquainted with a thief?”

I smiled at him. “Because you’re already acquainted with someone just as unique as I am.” I watched his reaction carefully, and saw the slight furrow of his brows as he thought of who I could be talking about. “Come now, Vayne, surely you recognized what I said to you when we met. What was it, the second- third thing you heard come out of her mouth?”

I saw realization spark in his eyes and smiled.

“Abigail…” I wondered if he realized how softly he’d said her name, like he was breathing a prayer, and I was glad I finally had a name to call her. Though I guessed that she preferred to go by Abby and Vayne was just being his overly proper self. His expression hardened. “How could you possibly know about her.”

“You’ll come to find that I know many things that should be impossible for me to know, Vayne,” I told him slowly. “Not particularly about this world, I admit, but regarding _her_ and what happened around her on that world between worlds? I might as well have been there myself, right next to her the entire time. I know that she healed you when she didn’t have to, even though it hurt her to do so; not that she realized how deeply her healing was hurting her at the time, but we both know she wouldn’t have cared if she had. I know that she stayed with you to recover after you figured out that her healing needed to be balanced out by Darkness. I know that you asked her to come back to Ivalice with you, and that when she decided to stay with her brother Noctis you gave her a white rook to remember you by. She’s very fond of that rook, by the way.”

“How,” he demanded. I smiled demurely back at him.

“The how is unimportant, but I know many things when it comes to her. I know where she came from, I know how she ended up on Eos, I know what the Astrals did to her and what the ‘Blessing of the Glacian’ truly means for her. Most importantly, however, I know her fate. I know what the Astrals are planning for her, and I know for certain that no one wants it for her. Least of all, you.”

“Her fate is truly so horrible?” His voice was tinged with a worry I wasn’t sure he himself was aware of and I gave him a single sad nod.

“It is. The Astrals are terrible gods, Vayne. The Glacian is by far the kindest of them all, but she still played her part in Abby’s situation.”

“Why is your knowledge limited specifically to her?” The question didn’t catch me quite as off-guard as I thought it should have. I blinked slowly before turning to stare back at the castle with a sigh, staying silent for a moment as I thought about how to respond.

“Do you refuse to answer, thief?”

I turned to scowl softly at him.

“You know my name, Vayne. Use it; otherwise I really will refuse to answer your questions. I was gathering my thoughts.”

“My apologies.” He let me fall back into silence as I stared at the castle for a few more moments, until he broke it again with another question. “Are you wishing your King and Princess still lived?”

I snorted. “King Raminas and _Princess Ashe_ ,” I accidentally sneered her name, “were no rulers of mine.” I could practically feel his shock at the quiet words.

“You are not Dalmascan, then?”

“I’m not even Ivalician, Vayne. I’m from a different version of the same universe as Abby.” I heard a short intake of breath from my left and I could guess where his train of thought was taking him. “I woke up -to my knowledge I didn’t literally fall into the world like Abby did- in the desert outside the gates a few weeks ago and Vaan, the younger blond boy you sent to Nalbina with me, was the one who found me. He helped me acclimate to this world and over the course of the past few weeks he’s become something like a brother to me.”

“You are… like her?” I could feel his eyes drilling into me and I knew what he was thinking.

“Let me stop you right there, Vayne. I wasn’t blessed by the gods of this world like Abby was blessed by the Astrals. I had no foggy, half-forgotten meeting with a god of this world before waking in the desert like Abby had with the Glacian before she fell from the sky.”

“Then you have no magic,” he concluded, turning back to look at the castle. I grinned and held my hand palm up in front of me.

“I didn’t say that.” I summoned a ball of water to slosh and swirl above my hand. “As far as I’ve figured out; Abby’s magic uses the energy of her own soul to manifest the elements or heal. I -apparently- was simply granted the ability to manipulate Mist without, as my Viera friend has pointed out, actually being a part of the Mist.” I let the ball of water dissipate back into the Mist and waved my hand to give us a gentle breeze. “As you can see, my elements differ from hers. In addition to that, I’m unable to heal. As far as I know, at least…” I trailed off as my mind broke away from the topic to follow that particular idea. I shook my head and cleared my throat to bring myself back on track.

“My point here, Vayne, is that I would be useless to you. Even if I could heal, it wouldn’t be to the same extent as Abby’s healing. My magic is nowhere near as powerful as Abby’s is in any respect.”

“And yet you escaped an inescapable prison,” he pointed out. I turned to smirk at him.

“That was with the invaluable assistance of a Viera, a sky pirate, and some rather unfortunate but necessary disregard for my own morals. I arguably could have made the escape without using my magic at all, though my group would’ve most likely been at least moderately injured from a fairly stomach-churning fall we were forced to take.”

“Fall? Whatever did you fall from?” The genuine curiosity I sensed behind his words made me smile softly.

“It was more that we fell _into_ something rather than _from_ something,” I clarified with a rueful grin. “The point I’m trying to make, though, is that even though I know _you_ from my knowledge of _her_ , -and though I may have been somewhat loyal to you solely from that in the beginning- my loyalties lie with my brother now. I’m sure _you_ of all people can understand and appreciate being loyal to your younger brother.”

“Maybe, but Larsa is my brother by blood. You obviously cannot say the same for the Urchin.” My grin turned to a knife-edged flash of teeth.

“Tell me, would you say the same to Abby if she were here? That Noctis isn’t her true brother because they don’t share a blood tie?” My talent for reading people served me very well in a battle of wits against Vayne, and I saw the surprise flash across his eyes before it was hidden away again. “Some would say that my bond with Vaan is stronger -more true- than your bond with Larsa simply because I _chose_ to view him as family instead of him being dumped on me because the same people gave life to us.”

Vayne’s jaw clenched almost imperceptibly and I could feel his rage at the insinuation that he was not wholly devoted to Larsa roll off him in waves.

“Of course, those people would be _wrong_ ,” I continued, waving a hand to dismiss his rage with a smirk and a gentle breeze across his face. “I’m of the opinion that the bond between siblings should be respected and treasured, blood or not. People who betray their siblings are the worst kind of people.”

“You sound like you’re speaking from experience,” Vayne observed, and I clenched my fist that was hidden from his view at the mischievous black-brown eyes and playfully antagonistic smirk that flashed across my memory.

“Mm,” I hummed softly, not really confirming or denying his assumption. “As lovely as this chat was, Vayne, I believe my brother is expecting me back soon. I’d really rather not listen to him whine if he comes looking for me and finds me having a friendly chat with you, so I’ll be going now.” I turned my back on the castle and started to walk away, raising my hand idly to wave at him without turning back around. “Take care of yourself and, please, do try to keep in mind your motivation behind all your plans. I’m sure he cares about you more than he cares about being Emperor. Try not to deprive him of his brother in your plans to bring him the throne.”

I pulled my second orange out and started to peel it as I made my way to The Sandsea Tavern, feeling Vayne’s eyes burning holes into my back until the crowd closed around me. I let a long, slow breath out through my nose. That had been… stressful, but at the same time I felt that it was good that Vayne knew my secret.

I had just started to separate the orange into its individual slices when I stepped through the door of the tavern. I spotted Vaan, along with Migelo, Basch, Balthier, and Fran on the balcony level and I went to meet up with them.

“Hey guys-” I cut myself off as I looked from Migelo to Vaan and back again, my orange slice halfway to my mouth. My hand lowered back down and I furrowed my brows. Migelo looked sick and Vaan looked worried. “What’s up?” My voice was light, but I slipped my orange back in the bag it had come in.

“Penelo’s been taken,” Migelo said.

The effect was instantaneous. I felt the Mist swirl dangerously around me for a split second as I took a deep breath through my nose, then Migelo, Basch, and Vaan were driven to their knees. Balthier and Fran would have been if they hadn’t already been sitting down. As it was, I could tell that all five of them were struggling to breathe under the sudden pressure in the atmosphere.

“I’m sorry, I think I need someone to explain to me _in detail_ ‘what’s up’, because I don’t believe I heard Migelo right,” I said with a deathly calm voice.

“There was a note,” Migelo struggled to explain. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to reign in my temper. Migelo wasn’t a fighter, he couldn’t have protected her any better than she could protect herself. His next words came easier, like he wasn’t struggling as much to breathe. “A note for this Balthier.”

I would have opened my eyes, but I had a feeling that until I knew the details it was probably safer if I couldn’t see to read the people around me. This was the second time the atmosphere had gotten heavy like this when I’d been angry, so I had to assume that it was something I was able to do that I hadn’t quite figured out yet.

“Continue,” I said through grit teeth, my face angled toward the floor and my hair hanging to hide my expression from the others as I measured my breathing and waited for the rest of the details.

“‘Come to the Bhujerba Mines’ it said,” Migelo told me.

“It’s Ba’Gamnan. He was in Nalbina,” Fran added.

My voice was little more than a hiss when I spoke. “I recall.”

“If anything were to happen to-” I cut Migelo off with a snarl as I finally looked up and met the Bangaa’s reptilian eyes.

“ _Nothing_ will happen to Penelo, I can promise you that much.”

“And just what do you plan to do,” Balthier asked me.

I turned to him with a frighteningly calm smile. “Simple. You have an airship, _Sparrow_. You’ll take me to this Bhujerba.”

“Mm, no.” He said simply. I walked forward until I was right in front of him and leaned over to be at eye level with him as I reached out to grab his shoulder.

“That _wasn’t_ a request,” I told him with honey in my voice as I let some of my rage channel the Mist. Whatever this effect was seemed to be linked to my anger, like Abby’s lightning magic. “You can take me there and fucking leave me for all I care, but you will be taking me to Bhujerba.” He met my eyes steadily.

“I don’t respond well to orders,” he told me through gritted teeth.

“And I’m afraid that I don’t respond well to my friends being taken hostage by bounty hunters looking for another of my friends,” I responded with false cheer. “This feeling in the air? The same one that was in the tunnels after we heard Basch’s story? It’s caused by my anger. By my _temper_. A temper that I’m still mostly in control of for the moment.”

I let go of his shoulder and began repressing my anger again as I stood up straight. “You can be sure, Sparrow, that once I enter Bhujerba there will be one less bounty hunter searching for you.”

“You do know that the Imperial fleet is massing at Bhujerba,” he informed me. I raised an eyebrow.

“Your point? I believe I already said you can drop me off and leave me there for all I care. I will not abandon Penelo to that bloodthirsty Irish lizard just because there are people who’d like to see me in chains again.”

“You’re planning to go alone? Into a den of Imperials or Imperial sympathizers?” Balthier sounded incredulous and I felt the corners of my mouth curl into a dangerous smile.

“I don’t know why you sound surprised, Sparrow,” I said softly. “I was willing to take the brunt of that Flan’s attacks for you and Fran after 20 minutes. I was… reluctantly willing to take them for Amalia after 3. Penelo was the second person on Ivalice that I trusted with my truth. The Empire is nothing, that headhunter is _nothing_ in the face of my desire to protect my precious people.” After a moment I huffed a soft laugh and added, “Believe it.”

“She won’t be going alone,” Vaan said, stepping up to my side. “I’m going too.”

“As will I,” Basch agreed. “I have business in Bhujerba anyway.”

“An audience with the Marquis by chance?”

I raised an eyebrow at Balthier who was still lounging at the table. The feeling in the air had abated almost entirely now that my anger had been mostly suppressed.

“Balthier, just take us, and this is yours!” Vaan pulled the magicite from his pocket and I raised the other eyebrow. Vaan must have been desperate indeed to give up the magicite.

“And what do _you_ say to that,” Balthier asked me. I scoffed.

“I only protected it because Vaan wanted it. I told you what should be done with it when we were in the palace vault,” I told him.

“The gods are toying with us,” Fran said.

“The gods have been toying with all of us since we stepped foot in the palace the night of the banquet,” I hissed suddenly, my eyes narrowing. “Playing us like pawns in their game of chess. Why else would your hover just _disappear_ as you put it? And then we happen to stumble across the resistance leader and save her life? You think all that was coincidence?”

Balthier groaned and pushed himself up from the table. He walked past us and to the stairs.

“Make yourselves ready, we leave soon.”

I turned to Vaan. “Take this and buy us some food to eat on the way there,” I said, handing him the gil I had on me.

“What about you,” Basch asked. I stretched my arms over my head with a groan.

“I’m following Balthier, of course,” I said with a grin. “I have no preparations to make aside from catching up on my sleep, so I’ll be joining him at the ship and sleeping. Make sure someone wakes me up around 20 minutes before we get to Bhujerba so I have time to eat.”

I turned and trotted down the stairs to slip out the front door and run after Balthier.

“Don’t you have preparations to make,” he said, not looking my way when I came up beside him and matched his pace.

“I do indeed,” I said, pulling my orange back out of the bag to eat it as I walked.

“Then you should go make them.”

“That’s what I’m doing,” I smiled up at him, popping a slice of orange in my mouth. He stopped to turn to me with his arms crossed.

“You cannot just order me around and expect me to forget about it because you bat your eyelashes and look cute,” he told me with an angry undercurrent to his voice. My smile fell.

“Have you ever had something worth protecting?” I asked softly. I didn’t wait for an answer, looking down at my hands as I peeled another orange slice off. “In my universe… I was the youngest of my siblings. A half sister who was six years older than me, a half brother who was ten years older than me, and five god brothers; the youngest of which was eight years older than me.

“I’ve _always_ been the one who was protected. No one ever needed _me_ to protect _them_. Now someone does. Now I have a little sister and she’s all alone and probably scared and she _needs me_. So I’m sorry that I let my temper get the better of me, but I will not abandon her to chance or to the gods or to fate. I will not… turn into _him_ ,” I hissed as I ate an orange slice.

“Him?” Balthier sounded interested and I glanced up as I realized my mistake. I took a deep breath.

“I also had a friend…”

Dark eyes flashed in my memory again and I squeezed my eyes shut to push it away before starting toward the aerodome again. I swallowed the lump in my throat.

“He… wasn’t my family by blood and he wasn’t part of my god family, but he was family just the same. He was my _brother_ , just the same. He was two years older than me and I was just as fiercely loyal to him as I am to Vaan.”

“You say was…”

I nodded softly.

“Two years ago… he disappeared from my life entirely with no warning or explanation. He was there one day and gone the next. To this day I still don’t know why my brother left, but I will not abandon my little sister the way Vincent abandoned me.”

I popped another orange slice in my mouth and looked over to see Balthier sighing, tension releasing from his shoulders.

“I forgive you,” he whispered under his breath. I sniffled quietly, turning my head away. Fran had stopped at the entrance to the aerodome to wait for Vaan and Basch, so it was just Balthier with me.

“Thank you…”

We came to a stop and I looked up to see a huge airship. It was mechanical in design, which got gears in my head turning as I stared up at the ship in awe.

“This is the _Strahl_. Beautiful, isn’t she?” Balther asked me. I nodded in agreement.

“I’ve never flown before,” I admitted. “The engineers of my world did finally get around to air travel, but airplanes are far different from this. This is more along the lines of… hmm…” I looked over to him. “Yeah, this is more along the lines of _Millenium Falcon_ than _Air Force One_.”

He blinked at me a couple times. “Is that… Good?”

A laugh bubbled out of my chest.

“Yeah, Han Solo. It’s a good thing,” I said as I turned back to look at the _Strahl_ again.

I’d learned that mechanical airships were generally Imperial… I narrowed my eyes and ate the rest of my orange as I thought.

_‘That looks suspiciously like something the Empire would build.’_

_‘But this is Balthier.’_

_‘Yes; this is Balthier. The mysterious sky pirate whose backstory we don’t know yet, with a clear aversion to the Archadian Empire, a penchant for thieving, and manners to rival Vayne. Not to mention his **accent**.’_

_‘…Son of a-’_

With a short, silent laugh I twisted to look at Balthier who was watching me carefully.

“Are you going to invite me on board,” I asked as my smile grew a little bigger. His secret would be safe with me. He smirked.

“Of course, forgive my terrible manners,” he said as he led me into the ship. I snorted softly.

“Please. Your manners are probably second only to Vayne and that’s because he’s the Emperor’s son. I’m sure Larsa’s are just as impeccable as Vayne’s, but that comes with the territory,” I said with a smile.

I looked around, examining the inside of the ship for a corner that was out of the way. When I found one that looked acceptable I sat down with my back to one wall and leaned my shoulder against the other.

“You know there are chairs, right?” Balthier asked. I hummed softly.

“I’m aware.”

My head leaned back against the wall and my eyes slid closed.

“Wait, are you going to sleep right there on the floor?” Balthier sounded shocked. I cracked one eye open and raised an eyebrow.

“Am I in the way?”

“Well no-”

“Then yes,” I said, closing my eye again. All my muscles relaxed and I felt the tension flow out of me. The last thing I heard before slipping into unconsciousness was a deep, amused chuckle.

\--

“Hey, wake up!” I heard a voice call and I groaned. “Come on, we’re 20 minutes from Bhujerba and you told Basch to have someone wake you up so you could eat.”

I cracked an eye open and sat up blearily, scrubbing a hand over my face.

“Ugh. I could sleep for another week and it wouldn’t be enough,” I muttered.

My hand flopped back down, landing on soft sheets and a comfortable mattress and my brows furrowed. My hand felt around blindly for a moment before I forced my eyes open and saw that; no, I wasn’t going crazy. This was really a bed underneath me and I had been tucked under a nice, fluffy blanket.

“Wait, what the fuck? I was sleeping on the floor, why am I in a bed?!”

“Dunno, but you were already in here when Basch and I showed up,” Vaan said. I furrowed my brows. That meant that it only could have been Balthier who had moved me, as Fran had waited for them outside.

I shook my head and stood up. “Alright, I’m awake. Lead me to the food.”

I followed Vaan out of the room and into the “cockpit”. I say “cockpit” but it was far more spacious than any airplane cockpit as far as I knew. It fit the five of us comfortably.

I yawned as I walked in the room, immediately spotting the food near Balthier and making a beeline for it.

“Did you sleep well,” Balthier asked when he saw my hand snatch a sandwich.

“Mm. You know, it’s the strangest thing,” I said softly, watching the side of his face as I leaned against the wall closest to him. “I could have sworn I went to sleep on the floor in an out of the way corner. Yet when I woke up I was in a bed.”

He smirked slightly. “Is that so? Perhaps the moogles moved you,” he said, his eyes darting to me for a second before focusing back on flying the ship. I let out a soft, short laugh and pushed off the wall, leaning to get another half of a sandwich.

When my fingers closed around my prize I turned my face to the side to give him a quick kiss on the cheek, my lips barely brushing his jaw.

“Tell the moogles I said thank you, then. It was the best sleep I’d had in a long time,” I whispered before retreating with my food and going to talk with Vaan and Basch, leaving a slightly stunned Balthier to pilot the ship.


	12. Whose Kid is This Kid?  It Doesn't Matter, He's Mine Now.

My breath caught in my throat as the Skycity of Bhujerba came into view. It was located on a rock that was floating in the sky and _covered in trees_. Real trees, not those shitty half dead desert trees I’d been around for the past three weeks. These trees were a vibrant dark green that reminded me of home and I let out a shaky breath, a soft, short whine escaping along with it.

“Is something the matter?” Basch asked me. I’d been in the middle of a sentence when the clouds had parted and I’d gotten a glimpse of the city.

“ _Home_ ,” the agony contained in that single word as I walked forward to stand just behind Balthier and Fran while I stared out the window was almost more than I could bear.

“What do you mean, home?” Basch asked, confused. “You said your home was another universe, this is just Bhujerba.”

“Lakes and rivers, mountains and valleys, farm lands, those all made up the area surrounding my home,” I explained, my voice thick with emotions I hadn’t let myself feel. “But my favorite part out of all the others… were the _forests_. Trees for as far as the eye could see, blanketing the land in thick green during the spring and summer. Even the towns and cities around where I lived; they had trees everywhere. This place… it reminds me of home.”

As we flew over the city I saw huge crystalline spikes rising from the rock in places and while that dulled the feeling of nostalgia _slightly_ , it didn’t shatter it completely. I took a deep breath and turned to take one of the seats behind Basch and Vaan as Balthier brought us in to land.

We were in the main lobby area of the Aerodome when we saw our first Imperials. I was sanding just behind Balthier and Basch and I reached out to wrap a hand around Basch’s forearm.

“Easy,” Balthier said in a low tone as the soldiers ran into the room, looking around for someone. The muscle under my hand was tense and I squeezed gently to remind him that he wasn’t in that pit anymore. That he was free and with friends.

From what I heard, whoever the troops were looking for was male and, from the way they’d pretty much ignored the people who were standing in groups they expected the male to be alone.

Balthier started to walk away after the soldiers ran off into another room.

“You’re a dead man. Don’t forget it,” he said. “And no names!”

“Of course,” Basch agreed easily. I sighed.

“Whatever you say, Sparrow,” I teased.

He turned to raise an eyebrow at me. “Why exactly do you call me that?”

I hummed with a smile as I caught up to and passed him. “Becauuuuuse,” I drew it out, turning to walk backwards for a moment. “It’s the name of a bird, and it’s also the last name of a famous pirate from my home.”

I left out that the pirate in question was… slightly insane, turning back around to lead the group into the main thoroughfare of Bhujerba. I hesitated when I saw a bridge to cross to get into the main part of the city, my apprehension sky-rocketing.

“Something wrong,” Basch asked me.

I swallowed harshly, unsure of why I was frightened or where the feeling had come from. This wasn’t a metal grate across running water that could fall at any minute, this was a _bridge_. Specifically designed for, and constructed to, carry the weight of the travelers crossing it.

A hand met my back and I looked up into Balthier’s concerned green eyes.

“Are you quite alright? I thought bridges didn’t effect you this way,” he said softly. I shook my head and balled my hands into fists.

“So did I. Apparently we were both mistaken,” I said through gritted teeth.

“The Lhusu Mines are just up ahead, once you cross this bridge you won’t have to cross it again until we make ready to return to Rabanastre,” he told me. I looked back to the bridge.

“What happened to protecting your little sister,” he goaded. My eyes narrowed and he smirked lightly. “There you go. Seeing your determination is much better than seeing your fear. I’ll be right next to you all the way across.”

I nodded once, forcing my feet to move.

_‘The first step to not being afraid is to act like you’re not afraid.’_

_‘Thank you so much for the suggestion, like you’re not the one responsible for the adrenaline pumping through my system right now.’_

I grit my teeth and pulled my shoulders back, getting angry that I had let something as pathetic as a _bridge_ distract me from rescuing Penelo. I kept my breathing measured as I focused on walking normally.

“You’re on your way to the mines?” A young voice cut through my concentration and my head snapped around to see a boy lifting himself up to look out over the edge of the bridge.

 _‘N O T S A F E, P R O T E C T H I M.’_ My mind screamed suddenly and I tilted my head to the side slightly. I’d never had my protective instinct flare so quickly before.

“I couldn’t help but overhear,” the boy said, letting himself down from the wall and walking over to us. “Please, allow me to accompany you. I’ve an errand to attend to there.”

I took in the details of the boy’s clothing while Basch questioned him, it was dark green and white, with gold accents and a small cape type thing attached to his shoulders. His shoulder length brown hair, green-ish hazel eyes and the way he spoke reminded me an awful lot of a certain Emotional Support Consul.

I stifled a laugh when he threw Basch’s question back at him.

“Right, come on then,” Balthier said. “Do me a favor and stay where I can keep my eye on you.”

“I’ll worry about that, Sparrow,” I said, stepping up to the boy and smiling down at him. “I have a feeling that he and I will get along just fine.”

I introduced myself as my half-sister Samantha before turning to Basch and pointing at him. “That’s Steve, but you can call him Cap.” My finger moved to Balthier, “That’s Han Solo.” Then to Fran, “Her name is Chewie.” I pulled Vaan to me with a grin. “And finally, this is my little brother Luke.”

“It’s very nice to meet all of you,” the boy said with a smile. “My name is Lamont.”

I draped an arm around his shoulder and pulled him along. “If you couldn’t help but overhear our destination, then I’m sure you also couldn’t help but overhear that I’m not a fan of this bridge. So let’s make tracks.”

As we walked through the town and stopped by various shops to examine weapon options or armor upgrades, Lamont and I chatted easily.

“You asked Cap why we were heading to the mines, yeah?” At his nod I tightened my arm slightly around his shoulders before relaxing it with a sigh. “My little sister was kidnapped while I was away from home. They left a note that if I wanted her back I’d have to come to the mine in Bhujerba.”

“You must care for her an awful lot,” he said, looking up at me. “I have an older brother myself, and I fear he’s just as protective of me.”

I let out a short laugh. “Yes, I’m sure he is. Older siblings tend to be that way.”

Finally everyone seemed to be finished upgrading their armor and replacing their weapons and buying various restoratives, so we headed toward the mines. When we reached the entrance I let out a low whistle. There were arches and columns supporting the rock face that the entrance was dug into, making it look far more extravagant than any mine I’d ever seen on Earth.

“Fancy,” I said, standing at the top of the stairs that led down into the tunnels.

“We must be careful,” Basch cautioned me. “We don’t know if they’ve laid any traps for us.”

I waved my hand dismissively.

“Of course they have,” I said as I started down the stairs, finally letting my arm fall away from Lamont. “They’re not stupid- Well, okay, I take that back. They’re _very_ stupid because they took my little sister. _BUT_ , my point, is that they’re not going to be stupid enough to tell us to come get her and then _not_ booby trap the hell out of the place.”

“Wait, so you’re just going to charge in there with no plan?” Lamont called. I stopped on two different stairs and turned back to smile at him.

“I _have_ a plan. Get my sister back. Everything else will work itself out.”

I turned and continued down the stairs, the others following close behind. I paused again at the entrance. It was _huge_. Behind me, Balthier spoke up.

“The Lhusu Mines; one of the richest veins in Ivalice.”

“Under Imperial guard, no doubt,” Basch added.

“Actually, no,” Lamont cut in, walking forward. “With but few exceptions, the Imperial army is not permitted in Bhujerba.” I grinned. Between his looks, his clothes, and his apparent knowledge of Imperial restrictions, I was becoming more and more sure of who this kid _actually_ was. Balthier and Basch exchanged a look as he walked up to me.

“Shall we proceed?”

“Of course,” I said, slinging my arm around his shoulders with a grin as we headed inside.

Once we were out of earshot, before we’d made it in the tunnels where my voice would echo, I smirked and whispered under my breath so that only “Lamont” could hear me.

“Your secret is safe with me, your Highness.” I felt him tense slightly and laughed. “I promise you, I’ll tell no one.”

“How did you know?”

I smiled down at him. “For one, you dress for your station and in the same colors as your brother. Not to mention you resemble him, so long as someone is paying attention at least. What made me sure though was your knowledge of Imperial restrictions.”

“So then if it’s that obvious-”

“I assure you, I’m the only one who’s figured it out; though Sparrow would more than likely be the next one to do so.”

“The next one to do what?” Balthier asked me suspiciously.

I turned and smiled at him. “Figure out that Lamont is an actual angel and deserves the world, of course.”

He narrowed his eyes but his attention was diverted by the sound of foot steps coming down one of the tunnels. We all hid quickly behind the pillars nearby, me with Larsa’s back to me and my arms around him protectively.

“You will forgive me for asking, but you _are_ diverting the purest of the magicite-” said a voice that echoed slightly as if from behind a helmet. I wanted to peek around the pillar to get a look, but I wasn’t going to do anything that would put Larsa in danger.

“I can assure you it reaches Lord Vayne most discretely,” another voice replied, this one with a pleasant accent. My arms tightened sightly.

“You wear your saddle well,” the echoing voice said after a single short laugh, though I was sure it was malicious.

“Be that as it may,” the second voice responded, sounding sure of himself. “I have no intention of being bridled, Your Honor.” My eyes narrowed. So this man was talking to a Judge, then.

“Then you prefer the whip?” The Judge asked the second man. “Stubbornness will see not only you broken, Excellency, but Bhujerba as well.” My hands balled into fists where they rested on Larsa’s chest at the blatant threat. He reached up and grabbed hold of one, squeezing it to get my attention. When I looked down he shook his head slightly.

I let out a silent breath and relaxed my hands, nodding at him in thanks as we came out from our hiding place. Larsa jumped down from the platform the pillars were on, looking to where the two men and their entourage of servants were disappearing up the stairs.

“Halim Ondore IV,” Larsa told us quietly. “The Marquis of Bhujerba. The Marquis served as mediator at the negotiations of Dalmasca’s surrender. It would appear that he is somewhat _less_ neutral now.”

“They say he’s been helping the Resistance,” Balthier said, hooking his thumbs into one of the many belts hanging on his hips.

“They say many things,” Larsa retorted, making me smile.

“You’re certainly well informed. Who did you say you were, again?” The suspicion in Balthier’s voice made me shift my weight to my other foot. If it came down to it… I wouldn’t fight either of them, but I wouldn’t just stand by either.

“Does it matter who he is, Sparrow?” My voice was soft and I crossed my arms as he looked over at me. “Who he is or isn’t won’t rescue Penelo from that damned Irish lizard. We’re wasting time while we stand around doubting him.”

I slung my arm back across Larsa’s shoulder and walked away, heading down one of the tunnels. When we turned a corner onto some mine cart tracks I spotted some steelings.

“Fantastic,” I hissed, releasing Larsa with a sigh. “More _bats_.” I reached my hand out just as they spotted us and they were each surrounded in their own little sphere of water.

“A mage,” Larsa said in astonishment. I grinned at him.

“I have many talents, _Draga_ ,” I told him, digging into the random Romani words I knew for something to call him that wasn’t Lamont and wouldn’t give his secret away.

“What does that word mean?” He asked me as he slashed at one of the bats. I sent a flurry of air blades toward the one that was farthest away from me.

“It’s a word from my home, it means ‘Dear One’.”

“You barely know me, though,” he said incredulously.

“I barely know you and I already want to protect you,” I said with a laugh, drawing Stygian and darting forward to slice off one of the steelings wings.

“Gods help us,” Balthier muttered. I sent a harmless gust of air his way.

_“I heard that.”_

“Good!” He said as the last steeling died, turning to me with his arms crossed. “You don’t need anyone else to be protective of, you put yourself in enough danger as it is.”

I shrugged, sheathing Stygian and following the tracks to go deeper into the mines. There were two more steelings to kill before a hallway veered off to the left, and the group made quick work of them.

Turning down the hallway I saw another steeling flapping around and I hissed in irritation. I formed a water javelin that floated next to my head for a second before it shot forward, impaling the steeling and sending it shooting down the hall.

“I swear to god, I’m growing to hate those almost as much as I hate sand,” I muttered.

“Mr. Solo said you would be returning to Rabanastre,” Larsa said and I pushed down the urge to laugh as another steeling came from our left to attack us. “If you hate sand, why would you live in a desert city?”

“Because that’s just where I found myself. If I’d found myself here, or in Archades, or even Rozzaria, I could have lived in any of those places just as easily,” I said as I caught the steeling in a water bubble.

“ _Rozzaria_?” Larsa was shocked and I shrugged.

“I’ve never seen it or been there, so I don’t know what it’s like, but yes. Conceivably, I could have made my home wherever I found myself. I just happened to end up in Rabanastre.” The steeling fell to the ground and we continued on.

“If you don’t mind me asking, why did you leave your home?” Larsa seemed curious about me, which was fine, but he had picked one of the worst questions to ask. I heaved a sad, tired sigh as I reached out to ensnare another steeling in water.

“I had no choice, _Draga_ ,” I told him softly, letting him and the others finish off the steeling.

“Was your home destroyed?”

I thought to Brick and grimaced. “Not…that I know of. Though, I guess it’s a possibility.”

We came to more tracks and I laughed when I saw the steeling I’d impaled earlier stuck to the wall, flapping frantically. I formed another javelin and flung my hand forward, sending it to join the other just as Balthier’s gun went off.

I turned to the right and saw daylight. Left had been blocked by a set of bars, so daylight was the only way to go. We exited to find ourselves on…a bridge of sorts, connecting one part of the mine to the next. It was suspended over open air and I sighed as I saw a skeleton enemy form in front of us.

I drew Stygian and coated it in air magic, followed by my dagger coated in water. I’d just have to use the fighting to distract me from the bridge.

“Alright, spooky boi, come and get me,” I said as I dashed forward.

It had a lance in its hand, so it had more range than I did, but it was also slower than I was. Once I was in close it would have a much harder time trying to hit me.

I turned my torso to the side to dodge a jab from the lance as I ran, slicing sideways with Stygian when I was close enough. There was a steeling too and I flicked my dagger in its direction to direct the Mist. It enclosed around the steeling in another sphere of water and I focused back on the skeleton just in time to sidestep a jab from the lance.

I slashed Stygian upwards and followed it with a thrust of my dagger to sever it’s spine. It fell apart onto the ground and I turned to see yet another steeling coming to us from where it had been flapping around on a lower level path that I hadn’t noticed.

 _“So many bats,”_ I hissed as I sent an air blade at it.

Balthier’s gun fired and an arrow whizzed from Fran’s bow, all three hit in rapid succession and the steeling dropped dead.

Vaan was already walking to the other side and another skeleton formed in front of him. He, Basch, and Larsa attacked it as I reached out to catch the next steeling in a water sphere and send an air blade at it. The crack of Balthier’s gun sounded through the air and the steeling dropped to the ground.

Another air blade, this time sent at the skeleton, took care of that and I started toward the tunnel entrance in the next rock face. The tracks in this section split off in a Y and I looked between the two.

“Which way should we go,” Vaan wondered out loud.

“My mom used to tell me ‘always go to the right’, that’s generally the rule I follow,” I said absently, looking between the two paths before turning to the one on the right. “Plus it looks like left is a dead end so that helps too.”

Vaan grabbed a chest on the tracks as we passed it, netting us some gil, and we rounded the corner to find more daylight streaming through an exit. It predictably came out on another bridge. I heaved a sigh and glared at it.

“All will be well, Lady Samantha,” Larsa said and I smiled over at him, letting out an apprehensive breath.

“I’m sure it will be, unfortunately that doesn’t do much for my fear.”

He took my hand and started to lead me across the bridge, only to be stopped by three skeletons forming. I squeezed his hand once before letting go and drawing my sword and dagger.

I darted forward, getting behind the three skeletons while they were still forming, and brought Stygian down hard on one of them. I followed that with a slash from my dagger that ended up turning it to face me and I noticed an arrow sticking out from one of its ribs.

“Hey, Indiana Bones, you got something stick out of your chest! Here let me get it for you!” I stabbed Stygian forward, shattering the rib that the arrow was stuck in. The skeleton clicked at me angrily and I spun to slash sideways, slicing through whatever it was that held its head on its body without any muscles or tendons. It fell apart as I turned to the next skeleton. Larsa, Basch and Vaan had taken down the second one, and I grinned at the third one menacingly.

“If I were you, McCoy, I’d be asking Scotty to beam me up right about now,” I said sweetly, slashing Stygian through the air to direct an air blade at the skeleton. Larsa and Basch were the closest to the skeleton and I watched in slow motion as the skeleton turned toward Larsa. Every protective instinct in my body lit up like the fourth of July and air magic propelled me forward faster than I could move on my own.

I _body slammed_ into the skeleton before it could land a hit on him and it flew to the side. As I stalked forward my voice came out as a snarl.

_“You will not touch him.”_

The skeleton was wrapped in water, then a mini boulder materialized in the air above it and crashed down. When I crumbled the boulder back into the Mist the skeleton was nothing more than splintered bone. I turned to find the others staring at me; Larsa in some mixture of surprise and fascination, the others with clear disappointment that I’d once again thrown myself deliberately into danger. Literally this time.

I ignored the looks and walked up to Larsa, kneeling down in front of him.

“Are you hurt, _Draga_?”

“No,” he said with a shake of his head. “No, I am well, thank you Lady Samantha.”

I nodded with a smile and stood, turning to lead the way across the bridge.

“Good.”

“Are we not going to talk about the fact that you just literally threw yourself into an enemy to keep this boy safe even though you do not know who he may really be?” Basch sounded angry and I turned to see Balthier seething as well. I locked eyes with Larsa.

“I know enough,” I said with confidence. “I won’t let anything harm him so long as I have the ability to prevent it.”

 _‘Including the death of his brother,’_ my mind whispered.

_‘If I have the ability to prevent it.’_

Balthier clenched his fists and stalked toward me. “This ridiculous protective complex you have will be the death of you,” he growled.

I shrugged and turned away. “Probably,” I agreed softly. “If it is then my death will come on my terms and for a good reason.”

More skeletons popped up at various points as we crossed the rest of the bridge and, if only to appease Balthier, I stayed back and used my magic to fight them. Once they were dead I moved to take the lead again, only to be pulled back by Balthier.

“Oh, no you don’t. You’re staying right here where I can keep an eye on you and make sure you don’t go charging into danger.”

I narrowed my eyes up at him but he didn’t look at me.

“How very Ignis of you, _Not-Ignis_ ; making sure your world-hopper stays out of trouble,” I hissed. His eye twitched once and I laughed, walking ahead to sling an arm around Larsa’s shoulders again.

As we walked through the next section of the tunnels, fighting the skeletons that popped up, Larsa asked me questions.

“How did you learn to be so proficient with magic?”

I laughed softly as I sent a couple air blades at a skeleton. “Honestly, pure instinct. I didn’t even know I could use magic until I used it on a fire pony we were fighting. Since then I’ve found that I can use water, air, and earth magic.”

_‘Just add fire and we’d be the Avatar.’_

I froze for a second before barking out a startled laugh at the thought that earned me a couple strange looks.

“Sorry, I just thought of something from home and it was… surprisingly accurate, I guess. What’s your next question?”

He thought while he attacked the next skeleton. When it was dead he looked up at me as my arm landed around his shoulder again.

“Who taught you to fight?”

“Mm. Well, Luke taught me how to use a dagger. I added the sword later on and adapted what I’d learned to fit with that,” I told him, smiling at Vaan.

There was another skeleton and stairs just past that. I stepped forward, sending several elemental javelins flying at it and gaining its attention.

Basch and Vaan moved to intercept it.

It died fairly quickly and I dodged out of the way when Balthier tried to grab me to keep me from taking the lead. I took the stairs quickly, the others scrambling to keep up. At the top of the stairs the hallway broke off into what seemed to be a typical mine shaft instead of the brick and mortar tunnels made for the mine carts that we’d been through so far.

The walls of the shaft were laced with a blue substance and there were glowing fragments of stone scattered on the floor. Vaan opened the chests around the first room and we started down the tunnel.

“Lady Samantha,” Larsa said suddenly, and I looked over my shoulder at him. “You said that if you died protecting someone then at least there would be a good reason for your death. You are a gentle soul, a good person, why would you come to what you knew would most likely turn into a battle? Your friends and brother are obviously capable, and your sister’s kidnapper will be no skeletons. If you value life that much then why put yourself in that position?”

I smiled and walked into the next room.

“You’ll see soon enough.”

Something caught his attention and he walked ahead to kneel on the floor, picking something up.

“This is what I came here to see,” he said softly.

Vaan peered over his shoulder. “What is it?”

“It’s nethicite. Manufacted nethicite,” was the reply. I hissed a breath through my teeth. “Unlike regular magicite, nethicite absorbs magickal energy. This is the fruit of research into the manufacture of nethicite. All at the hands of the Draklor Laboratory.” Larsa’s explanation did nothing to ease my nerves and I saw Balthier glance down at Larsa suspiciously. He was close to figuring out the truth, I could see it.

Larsa got up and walked over to the far wall to inspect it. “So this _is_ where they’re getting the magicite,” he observed out loud. Balthier started forward and my muscles tensed.

“Errand all attended to, then?” He looked like a predator stalking prey and it would have been overwhelmingly attractive had _Larsa_ not been the prey he’d set his sights on.

“Thank you, I’ll repay you shortly.”

“No,” Balthier corrected. “You’ll repay us now. We have too much on our hands to go on holding yours; especially when one of us appears to lose her good judgement where you’re concerned.”

“ _Balthier_ ,” my voice cut through the air like a whip and everyone tensed. “We all know I had no good judgement to begin with. Don’t use _me_ as an excuse for your suspicion.”

“Are you telling me that _you_ , one of the most calculating people I’ve met, aren’t the least bit suspicious of him?” He turned back to Larsa, continuing to walk forward. “Where did you hear this fairy tale about ‘nethicite’? And where did you get that sample you carry? What you you know about the Draklor Laboratories?” Lara’s back was against the wall now and I started to feel rage bubble under my skin. “Tell me: who are you?”

_‘He’s just a child! P R O T E C T.’_

Larsa tried to turn to get away but Balthier cut his exit off by putting his hand on the wall. I could feel the Mist swirling dangerously around me as I walked forward and put a hand on Balthier’s wrist, keeping my temper in check for the moment.

Before I could say anything I heard a familiar Irish sounding rasp call Balthier's name and a vicious grin spread across my face as I looked past the sky pirate to see the headhunters who’d taken Penelo. Ba'Gamnan had an interesting weapon, a pole with a hoop on the end that was serrated and motorized to spin. Like some weird-ass chainsaw.

“ _Draga_ , you remember what you just asked me? About why I came along when I knew it would most likely turn into a battle?”

“Yes, Lady Samantha,”

“Mm… Samantha is my half-sister’s name. She’s still in my homeland. I apologize for the deception but, as you can tell, Sparrow is the suspicious kind.”

Vaan looked over at me and hissed my real name when he saw my face.

I locked eyes with Ba'Gamnan as he threatened Balthier and Larsa in the same breath. “These headhunters declared war when they took my little sister, whether they realized it or not. Now they think they can take you and Sparrow from me as well.”

Balthier turned to face them. "Keep your snout in the trough where it belongs. This thinking ill befits you, Ba'Gamnan."

The headhunter laughed a nasty laugh. "Too long have I gone unpaid. I'll carve my bounty out of that boy!"

My temper flared against my restraint, but I held on; not wanting Larsa to be next to me when I finally let it loose. Vaan stepped forward before I could say anything.

"Where's Penelo? We're taking her back!"

"The girl? Why keep the bait when you've landed the fish," Ba'Gamnan sneered. "We cut her loose on the way here and then off she ran, crying like a babe!" I smiled wider.

"Vaan. Go after her and make sure she's safe," I said without taking my eyes from the headhunter.

"What about you?"

"I'll be along shortly, little brother."

I looked down to meet Larsa's eyes, my smile softening for him and my voice was calm when I spoke. “To answer your question; haven’t you ever heard, _Draga mea_ , that demons _run_ when a good man goes to war?”


	13. Force of Nature

With that I took my jacket off and handed it to Vaan, then I stepped around Balthier and started toward the headhunters. Fran and Basch stepped to the side to get out of my way as Vaan bolted for the tunnel to do what I’d said.

“Oh look at this,” one of the headhunters laughed. “This waif fancies herself a hero?”

I smiled calmly at the one who spoke, but it didn’t meet my eyes.

“No, I am no hero. I’m simply the older sister you made the unfortunate mistake of pissing off,” I told him, turning back to Ba’Gamnan. “You kidnapped my little sister and scared her. Then as if that wasn’t a big enough mistake; you intended to cage my Sparrow and you threatened _Draga mea_ right in front of me.”

“What are you yammering abou-” Ba’Gamnan got cut off when Larsa’s nethicite slammed into his face.

Larsa used the distraction to dart out around Balthier and past the headhunters, scooping up the nethicite as he went. I laughed happily as I watched him get away.

Balthier chased him, grabbing my arm to drag me along, only for me to yank my arm out of his grip and square my shoulders. He came to a stop turning to yell at me from the tunnel we’d come through to enter this room as Basch ran past to follow Larsa and Vaan. Fran stopped just past him, waiting to see what he did. I spoke before he could get more than my name out.

“Leave me, Sparrow. You remember in the tavern, I told you I was still mostly in control of my temper? I’m losing my grip on it and you _will_ get hurt if you stay.”

He hesitated a moment longer before letting out a noise of exasperation and turning away.

“Make sure you come out of this alive,” then he was gone.

The head hunters tried to follow him, ignoring me, and I let my temper free of its leash. The atmosphere immediately got heavier and as the four headhunters slammed into the floor I realized suddenly that I was _controlling gravity_.

_“You go nowhere, Bangaa.”_

I brought my foot down on the rock beneath me and Mist flowed through the floor to shoot a giant earth spike up in their path. I raised my hands palm up at my sides and my scythes materialized as I reigned my temper back in.

“So,” Ba’Gamnan hissed as he and his lackeys picked themselves up off the floor, turning to me. “Balthier has a mage for a pet. It will make no difference, I’ll still have his bounty!”

His goons had a lance, a gun, and apparently fists since I saw no weapon. The only weapon I faced that truly put me on edge was the bastardized chainsaw thing in Ba’Gamnan’s hands. I’d happened to notice that the guns in this world were roughly as accurate as civil war era muzzle loaders back home, so I wasn’t too worried about the gun.

I took a deep breath, letting the earth spike crumble now that their attention was on me. Then I started singing.

“ _Are you…_  
 _Are you…_  
 _Coming to the tree?_  
 _Where they strung up a man,_  
 _They say who murdered three._ ”

I shot toward the lackey without a weapon first, wrapping my hands around the handle of the earth scythe and swinging it with my body weight in addition to my control of the Mist. A punch landed against my left shoulder as the blade of the scythe made contact and I _heard_ it dislocate. I swallowed my cry of pain, not wanting the sound to echo through the tunnels and bring anyone running back for me. A gust of air pushed him away from me so I could catch my breath. One attack and I’d already been hit.

“ _Strange things have happened here_  
 _No stranger would it be,_  
 _If we met_  
 _At mid-night in the Hanging Tree._ ”

“What are you doing, girl?” Ba’Gamnan hissed. “‘Tis four against one. Is your life really so meaningless to you that you’d throw it away for the likes of Balthier?”

“See, this is where you’re wrong,” I said, sending water javelins flying at him, followed by air javelins since they would be harder to see and he wouldn’t be expecting me to use different elements back-to-back like that. “You believe that I’m throwing my life away. To die protecting someone is not a meaningless death, but you’re mistaken when you assume that because you outnumber me you’ll win this fight.”

My air javelins hit him in the shoulders and I swung my right arm to the side, air blasting out from me to the right and the left, throwing the two armed Bangaa off their feet. My dislocated shoulder screamed in pain, but I ignored it; too focused on making the ones who took Penelo, hunted Balthier, and threatened Larsa pay for their mistakes.

“ _Are you,_  
 _Are you,_  
 _Coming to the tree?_  
 _Where a dead man called out,_  
 _For his love to flee._ ”

Ba’Gamnan charged at me and I dropped down to slam my hand against the floor. Solid rock rose up between us just as he thrust his chainsaw at me. I made the wall tip, trying to catch him beneath it as I whirled to block another punch from the unarmed Bangaa.

“ _Strange things have happened here_  
 _No stranger would it be,_  
 _If we met_  
 _At mid-night in the Hanging Tree._ ”

“You sing songs,” one of the Bangaa snarled and I sent an earth javelin flying at her face. “Are you so sure of your victory that you distract yourself from battle?”

“If that’s what you want to believe,” I said with a smile. “I assure you though, the singing doesn’t distract me.” The battle between us was doing a good job of satiating my temper, but I wouldn’t stop and retreat until I knew they couldn’t come after Balthier or Larsa.

“ _Are you,_  
 _Are you,_  
 _Coming to the tree?_  
 _Where I told you to run,_  
 _So we’d both be free._  
 _Strange things have happened here_  
 _No stranger would it be,_  
 _If we met_  
 _At mid-night in the Hanging Tree._ ”

I let my anger bleed into the Mist and the four Bangaa slowed considerably.

“What is this?!” One shrieked as I dashed around behind the unarmed one and grabbed the air scythe with my right hand, using my momentum to turn and tear it across his back. He dropped to his knees and didn’t move to get up as I retreated.

“ _Are you,_  
 _Are you,_  
 _Coming to the tree?_  
 _Wear a necklace of hope,_  
 _Side-by-side with me-_ ”

The song cut off and I couldn’t keep in my scream this time. The one with the gun had managed to land a hit, tearing through my shirt to hit my left side. I couldn’t look to see how bad the damage was, but I didn’t really want to anyway.

“Now begins your downfall, _mage_ ,” Ba’Gamnan sneered. "I can smell your desperation from here, waif, show me how desperate you are to survive this encounter!" I snarled angrily, flinging a javelin of each element at him to make him keep his distance. I didn’t want that chainsaw anywhere near me.

"How desperate am I?" I laughed tonelessly. "You threaten my world with war, you steal a force you can't hope to control, you talk about peace, and you _kill_ 'cause it's _fun_. You have made me _very_ desperate. You _might_ not be glad that you did."

"What are you talking about, girl?! I've threatened no world and I've stolen nothing I can't control!" Ba'Gamnan rasped at me.

"Oh I know, but I felt the need to channel my inner Nick Fury for this," I said with a lopsided grin.

"Your inner _what_?" He sounded so confused it was almost cute. I turned to the gunner.

"Ant, meet boot."

I caught the gunner in a water sphere and constricted it, building the pressure. My right hand reached for Stygian’s handle and she sung for me as she slid from her sheathe. The iaijutsu* slash I’d made as I pulled her free sent a blade of air hurling at the water sphere and I released the sphere a split second before the blade made contact, sheathing my sword again.

The Bangaa didn’t have enough time to react and took the hit directly, falling to the floor and not moving.

“NO,” the female shrieked in rage behind me and I dodged to the left. White-hot pain seared through my arm and another cry echoed off the walls and down the tunnels. I glanced to see that she’d sliced my upper arm open and tears started to fall because of the amount of pain I was in, between my dislocated shoulder, gunshot wound, and now this gash.

_‘If you hadn’t dodged when you did…’_

_‘I’m well aware. She would have skewered me.’_

Another strong gust of air sent at Ba’Gamnan ensured that he stayed far away from me and I turned to face the lancer.

“Your four against one advantage has dropped to two against one,” I snarled at them as I put pressure on my side. There was a lot of blood. “Are you still confident in my defeat?!”

“You’re bleeding all over yourself!” Ba’Gamnan cried as he dodged the javelins I sent his way.

“I’m a woman, it’s happened before and I can assure you it will probably happen again,” I spat, slamming my right foot down to send a wave of earth spikes at the lancer as she jabbed forward. Another cry tore from my throat; she had sliced into my calf this time.

“Just give up,” Ba’gamnan snarled at me.

“Balthier doesn’t belong in a cage, and I will never let you touch a _hair_ on Larsa Solidor’s head,” I hissed at him.

“Then you die for them!” The female screamed as she charged at me. I smiled at her.

“I would _gladly_ ; but I’m afraid I’ll have to pass this time,” I told her, sending three javelins flying at her. When she jumped out of the way I smirked and a jagged spike shot from the rock under where she was about to land. It was too late for her to redirect her fall and it impaled her leg through the thigh. She screamed in pain and I turned to Ba’Gamnan.

“One v. One me, bro,” I called with a maniacal grin. He looked bewildered.

“How did a single girl defeat three trained headhunters,” he shrieked as I limped forward. My grin widened.

“It’s simple,” I said calmly, pulling Stygian free with an ease that spoke of having all the time in the world despite being covered in my own blood. The scythes still circled me slowly. “You took my little sister, you hunted my friend, and you threatened Larsa Solidor. In short; you made me _desperate_.”

Air magic coated Stygian’s blade and stone rose up from the ground to enclose around his wrist as I came closer. Water washed over him, knocking his chainsaw weapon from his hand and I came to a stop right in front of him. He was still standing, so I had to look up to meet his beady reptilian eyes.

“Now you pay for your mistakes,” I whispered. “Remember this, the next time you think of pursuing Balthier, or you hear another headhunter talk of searching for him. Balthier is not to be touched; anyone who comes for him will face what you and your friends have faced today and much worse. Am I clear?”

At his nod, I smiled.

“Good. Then I believe we’re done here. If you try to come after me I will kill you without hesitation. Don’t mistake my mercy for weakness.”

I slid Stygian into her sheathe and limped past him, stooping to pick up the chainsaw weapon to use it for support as the scythes dissipated back into the Mist around me. I left his wrist trapped within the stone and made my way out.

At the bottom of the stairs I realized that the enemies had respawned in the time it took for me to defeat the headhunters and I groaned, sending multiple javelins in quick succession at anything that stood in my way.

At the first bridge I was too hurt and exhausted to feel the fear as I limped my way across. I tossed the circular chainsaw pole over the side; it wasn’t helping much anyway since my left shoulder was basically useless and my right arm was throbbing from blood loss. Plus it freaked me out. I was lucky I’d been able to keep him away from me.

I limped down the halls and tunnels, singing softly as I hurled javelins at anything that tried to get near me.

I was nearing the place where we’d overheard the Judge talking to the Marquis and I had been reduced to humming as I used the walls to keep myself upright. There was sure to be streaks of blood leading back to where I’d left the headhunters, but I didn’t think much of it.

Ba’Gamnan would get free around the time I lost consciousness, as would the lancer who’d been caught on an earth spike; but their other two friends had been seriously injured and unless they left the two in that cave to die they’d have more important things to worry about than finding a mage.

I sent javelin after javelin at the bats that tried to attack, being close enough to the entrance of the mine that the skeletons were nowhere around. Suddenly I heard Basch’s panicked voice call my name and relief flowed through me. If I heard my name then that meant I was safe.

Quick footsteps approached and I was caught just as my legs gave out. I looked up to see Fran holding me.

“You have lost a great deal of blood,” she said seriously and I watched as Balthier cast First Aid. Not something a gunner would normally know, I’d learned a little bit about the abilities that each license board gave over the time I’d spent here; but as the burning in my arm and the throbbing in my side lessened I decided I wasn’t going to complain. Licenses were stupid anyway, what did I care that he knew an ability he shouldn’t.

A groan rasped out of my throat as Fran knelt down, laying me across her lap so they could see the extent of my wounds.

“Gunshot in my left side, cuts to my right arm and leg, dislocated left shoulder,” I listed methodically.

“Here, this is a hi-potion,” Balthier said handing it to me.

I shot him a look. “The fuck am I supposed to do with this? You can’t just hand me shit from this world and expect me to know what to do with it,” I reminded him. My voice was much weaker than I wanted to admit.

He took it back and crushed the bottle over me. Immediately I gasped a deep breath.

“Holy _damn_ , that’s one strong mixed drink.” I lifted my right arm to see a thin, silvery scar below my shoulder. Then I sat up slowly and looked at my calf to see the same thing. Hesitantly, I tried to move my left arm and there was only a dull ache left behind.

“What on Ivalice did you _do_ ,” Balthier whispered. I hummed as I looked at the tattered remains of my shirt and poked at the silvery starburst pattern on my abdomen. The bullet had done more than graze me, apparently.

“I made them regret taking my sister, hunting you, and threatening _Draga mea_ ,” I told him, finally looking up from my newly acquired scars to meet his eyes. I realized I was still leaning on Fran and I reached a hand out.

“Yes, about that,” he said with a grimace as he helped me stand. I could guess what he was about to say. “Your ‘Dear One’ as you called him is actually Larsa Ferrinas Solidor-”

“I’m aware,” I said with a smile making Balthier’s hand tighten on mine.

“How long did you know,” Basch demanded and I turned to grin at him.

“I had my suspicions from the beginning, but I knew for sure right before we entered the mine.”

“Then why did you not speak? Why allow us to travel with the enemy,” Basch accused. I raised an eyebrow at him.

“And what exactly has he done to make himself an enemy, aside from being born the son of the emperor?” He opened his mouth but I turned away and continued. “Don’t begrudge someone the circumstances of their birth, _Captain_. Your brother implied that you were not originally Dalmascan when he left you hanging over that pit and we rescued you; would you enjoy being vilified simply because you were born in the wrong place to the wrong person?”

“He is-”

“A child, Captain. Men are not born evil, it’s their choices in life that define who they are. He hasn’t made enough choices in his life to be called evil but, if people shun him or treat him as a monster for simply existing, he will surely become one.” My voice was soft and I tried to walk forward, only to have Balthier’s arm wrap around my waist when my leg gave out from under me. The hi-potion hadn’t replenished all the blood I’d lost, then. Just enough that I wasn’t actively dying anymore.

“You’re tired,” he said, leaning down to hook an arm under my knees and pick me up despite my admittedly weak protests. “Rest. We’ll talk about this once you’ve gotten some food and drink in you.”

“Where’s Vaan,” I mumbled as I leaned my head against his shoulder and my eyes slipped closed.

“He and Penelo are both with Larsa,” Basch responded moodily.

“Oh good, then they’re safe…” The swaying motion from Balthier walking put me into a light sleep.

* * *

I came to a short while later when Balthier shook my shoulder gently.

“Wake up, you need to eat something,” he said and I cracked my eyes open to see a smirk from him. “I expect you to tell us what happened after you sent me away. All I heard before I got too far away was angry hissing, crumbling rocks, and then another of your songs.”

I hummed softly, reaching out for the grapes on the table in front of me. There was an orange there too, but that would have to wait until I thought I could peel it. We were back on the airship, I assumed it was the only place they were sure they could protect me while I got my strength back.

“Well,” I said slowly, Basch was watching with interest hidden behind the still obvious anger for me hiding Larsa’s identity and Fran was leaned against the wall behind Balthier’s chair. I started telling them what had happened.

“Why would you trust him to keep his word,” Balthier asked me when I mentioned what I’d told Ba’Gamnan.

I reached out to take the orange, feeling a little stronger by that point.

“For one, I took down his whole group and was still able to stand, speak and move.” I looked down to watch my fingers peel the orange carefully as I spoke. “If you were a headhunter with the obvious repute of Ba’Gamnan and his flunkies, and a single girl was able to take you down -even if she had been seriously wounded in the process- would you really recover and decide it would be a good idea to do the exact opposite of what she said?”

“Headhunters aren’t known for their smarts, Songbird,” I blinked in surprise at the nickname he’d given me. “If they come after me again-”

“Then it will be the last mistake they ever make, Sparrow,” I said lightly, peeling a section of orange off and eating it. My voice darkened slightly. “I meant what I said. If they follow me I will kill them with no hesitation. I’ve already got eight bodies on my conscience, the blood of eight men on my hands; four more won’t make much difference.”

“You should not think like that,” Basch said as he leaned forward. I looked over to see genuine concern in his eyes and smiled.

“Maybe I shouldn’t,” I agreed, eating another slice of orange. “But I do.”

“I will go find you new clothes,” Fran announced, pushing off the wall and walking out the door.

I watched her leave, then looked down at my torn and stained clothes.

“Hm. I’m glad I gave Vaan my jacket,” I said softly.

“When she returns and you feel well enough, we’re going to search for a way to gain an audience with the Marquis,” Balthier told me. I glanced up at Basch.

“How about spreading the word that Captain America here has come out of the ice,” I suggested.

“I know not what that means,” Basch muttered. “Why do you believe that will work?”

“Well,” I said, leaning forward. “The world thinks you’re dead, and rumor has it that the Marquis has been aiding the rebellion. Not to mention he’s entwined with the Empire in some way, so he may know that your treason wasn’t as cut and dry as the stories said. He’ll either want to recruit you or silence you and either one should get us an audience or bring us to someone who _could_ get us an audience.”

“Sound reasoning,” Balthier hummed. I shrugged tiredly.

“I’d probably be able to come up with a better plan if I hadn’t lost so much blood,” I said, looking back to the table.

“You have done more than enough to assist us today,” I heard Balthier say, earning a hum of agreement from Basch. I shrugged again.

“I nearly got myself killed, made you waste magic and a hi-potion on me, and then passed out and had to be carried back to the ship. Doesn’t seem very helpful when I look back on it,” I muttered, slipping another slice of orange into my mouth.

“Saving your life was not a waste,” Basch said gently. I looked up to see Balthier nod.

“I’d hate to think what Vaan and Penelo might do to me if I’d just let you die,” he added stoically and I blinked at him before breaking into laughter.

“Vaan would be the one to worry about, Penelo would be sad but I doubt she would hold it against you. You couldn’t have made me leave with you and she knows it.”

“Meanwhile, Vaan would say that I should have dragged you out of there kicking and screaming, I’m sure,” Bathier shot me a small smile and I was glad that I couldn’t blush at the moment.

“That’s probably about right,” I agreed.

I finished off my orange and drank some water to re-hydrate while we waited for Fran to return with clothes. When she got back I took a look at the clothes she’d brought for me and smiled.

“These are all perfect, thank you.”

Balthier stood and offered me a hand. “I’ll take you to a place where you can change,” he told me as I slipped my hand into his and he pulled me to my feet. The place where I could change was the same room I’d woken up in just before we arrived in Bhujerba. He pointed to a door I’d overlooked.

“There’s a bathroom through there; feel free to shower if you’d like, to remove the blood.” I nodded and murmured a thank you. “I can stay in here in case you need any help or you feel light-headed, or I can go get Fran for you.”

I shrugged and walked into the room he’d indicated, the light coming on automatically. “I don’t want to impose on anyone, I should be fine so don’t worry about it.”

Balthier frowned as I shut the door, but I didn’t pay any attention to it. I wasn’t going to make anyone sit around and do nothing on the off chance that I might get hurt.

I turned and started the shower, sighing as steam started rising. After my last 36 hours, a shower was _definitely_ in order even if I hadn’t been covered in my own dried blood.

I stripped out of my ruined clothes, piling them in a corner before stepping into the spray. Instantly, tension I hadn’t even realized I was carrying drained from my shoulders and I hummed as I tipped my head back to wet my hair.

I looked around the shower and spotted soap and what I assumed was shampoo and conditioner. There was no way Balthier’s hair could look _that_ soft if he didn’t use conditioner.

_‘Who says this is Balthier’s bathroom? He could have taken you to Fran’s room.’_

_‘I mean you have a point, but there’s a way to know for sure without asking.’_

I grabbed the bottle I assumed was shampoo and poured it into my hand, then ran it through my hair. I scrubbed until there was a rich lather, then I took a beep breath.

_‘Balthier.’_

It was all I could smell in the humidity of the bathroom. Light sandalwood and a hint of vanilla.

_‘Well that settles that.’_

I rinsed my hair out and went through the rest of my shower, only having difficulty when I had to scrub the dried blood away. I was surrounded by Balthier’s smell and when I finally finished and cut the shower off I was sure that he was all I would be able to smell for the rest of the day.

_‘Don’t pretend like you’re complaining.’_

I started humming softly, a song that I didn’t know all the words to, as I dried myself off and slipped into the clothes Fran had brought back. The shirt was a little short, enough so that my new scar peeked out. I looked in the mirror to examine it, deciding I liked it. I certainly didn’t want any _more_ of them, but it was an interesting looking scar and it made me look a little more like I belonged in this world.

I finished getting dressed, pulling on the knee-high boots she’d gotten to replace my old blood soaked ones, and pulled the door open as I towel dried my hair. Balthier was sitting on the bed.

“You’re looking better,” he commented. I narrowed my eyes.

“I told you that I didn’t want to impose on anyone. You should have gone to take care of sky pirate things or something instead of feeling like you had to babysit me,” I muttered.

“It was no imposition, I had nothing else to do. Since you didn’t tell me whether you would feel more comfortable with me or Fran I took it to mean you wouldn’t care either way,” he said with a smile.

When I got close I barely noticed his quick, silent intake of breath as he realized that I smelled like him, but I was meeting his eyes and caught his pupils dilate slightly. I shook my hair out and held up the towel I’d used to dry off.

“What should I do with this, Sparrow.”

He took it from me and dumped it in a basket near what I assumed was a closet.

“If you’re feeling stronger, I believe Basch is almost ready to announce his resurrection,” he said with a smirk. I smiled.

“Well, come on then. Can’t let Lazarus have all the fun, now can we?”

“I have no idea what that means,” he said as he followed me out of the room, staying close behind me.

“I didn’t expect you to, Sparrow,” I said with a laugh.

We came into the main area of the ship and Basch looked up.

“Those clothes are much different than your previous attire,” he said, standing. I sighed.

“Yes, well, that would be because those clothes were the ones I showed up on Ivalice in.”

“So then they were of your home?” The question was gentle and I nodded once.

“They were, but they died for a good cause. I’m just thankful I had the sense to give Vaan my jacket,” I said with a strained smile. “If that had been destroyed… I don’t think anyone would have survived that fight.”

Basch blinked in surprise. “You care that much about… a piece of clothing?”

“That piece of clothing is my security blanket,” I told him seriously. “When my anxiety starts to kick up it keeps me grounded. It’s my shield between myself and the world.”

“Then let’s go and retrieve it, shall we?” Balthier suggested, putting a hand on my lower back to guide me out the door of the ship. Neither of us remembered that this shirt was shorter than the last, so his palm brushed against bare skin instead of fabric.

Somehow, to my credit, I didn’t flinch at the unexpected contact. I just looked back at him with a raised eyebrow. He met my gaze head on and I smirked, then I grabbed another orange and headed out the door after Basch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Iaijutsu: A technique in Kenjutsu where the practitioner makes a quick, controlled slash as they unsheathe their blade.
> 
> I will willingly admit for anyone who hasn't noticed, that I am Naruto trash. My brain is a plethora of random, tiny details from the show and from various fanfictions set in the Naruto-verse. One such fanfic was based around an OC whose clan were kenjutsu specialists; her preferred opening strike was founded in the iaijutsu technique.


	14. Have You Heard? (There's a rumor in Bhujerba)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you think you recognize the title of this chapter, you probably do. I freely admit that it's a play on the song from Anastasia :)  
> "Have you heard?  
> There's a rumor in St. Petersburg!  
> Have you heard,  
> What they're saying on the street?"
> 
> ~DISCLAIMER~  
> I do specify a religious preference later on in the chapter. I apologize to any readers that this doesn't fit, but for the personality this reader character has I felt that it was the most likely mindset.

We made our way to the market street as I peeled and ate my orange, thinking about the best way to go about spreading word that the captain was alive. Any option I could think of involved me _talking to people_ , which was a terrible concept; but we were short on time and options. Then an alternative formed in my mind and a slow smile spread across my face.

“Have you decided how news of my survival should be spread?” Basch asked curiously. I sighed and glanced over at him.

“Yep, but nobody’s going to like it,” I said, squaring my shoulders. “Wait here.”

Before they could argue I slipped away into the crowd. Probably not my smartest move, going off on my own in an unfamiliar city while I was still low on blood, but I had made decisions even more questionable than that lately and had lived, so it was probably fine. All I had to do was find the nearest grouping of street kids and my plan could begin.

The kids would probably run at the sight of two men like Balthier and Basch; one intense and self-assured, the other scarred and intimidating. So going alone was my only option. Even with my new scar and my sword and dagger, kids would be far less likely to run from a young woman with a kind smile.

I found a group of five kids playing in an alley just off the market area and walked up with a smile. When they spotted me they started to scatter but I held up my hands to show I meant no harm and dropped to a knee.

“Woah, there. It’s alright,” I said gently, keeping my smile in place. Slowly they got a little closer, unsure of me. “I just need a little help, you guys, and if there’s anything I know; it’s that street kids have the best information networks.”

They carefully gathered a few feet in front of me, eyeing me suspiciously. I spotted the leader of them just before he spoke.

“Whatcha need from street rats like us?”

My smile turned to a soft frown. So young and already so jaded. With a sigh I reached into my pocket and pulled out a handful of gil.

“I’ll give each of you two gil a piece if you spread a rumor around the town,” I told them as they inched a little closer to see the gil in my hand. “The quicker it spreads the better, and if I’m hearing it through word of mouth in the market in an hour and a half I’ll double what I’m giving you right now. That would make it four gil a piece; enough to haggle yourselves some bread or fruit.”

I waited a moment, letting the offer sink in.

“What if we take this and don’t do what you ask?” A smaller voice than the leader asked and I sent the little girl it belonged to a kind smile.

“Then you don’t do what I ask and you have enough money to get a single loaf of bread to split between the five of you.” I shrugged easily, sliding my eyes over the group as I spoke. “I’ll figure out another way of spreading my information, but I thought maybe I could give you kids some… honest work. If I hear it from someone in the market in time I’ll meet you right back here to give you the rest of your gil, deal?”

There was a moment of deliberation where the kids all shared a look, before the leader turned back to me and nodded. “Deal.”

I grinned and handed them the money in my hand. “Fair warning though, I don’t think I’ll be able to ditch my bodyguards a second time around, so there will probably be two men and a Viera with me next time. Don’t worry about them. They may look big and scary, but none of them are in the habit of harming children so you’ll have nothing to fear.”

“Bodyguards? What are you, a princess?” One of the kids asked as he wrinkled his nose, eyeing me up and down. I let out a carefree laugh.

“No, nothing like that,” I told them, still smiling. “They’re just friends of mine and they’re rather protective of me because trouble tends to flock to me like chocobos to ghysal greens.”

The little girl giggled and I shot her a quick wink before clearing my throat. “Alright, now, back to business. I need you five to spread the word that you saw a woman talking to someone she called Captain Basch.”

“Why’s that so interesting,” the leader asked me. “Why would anyone care about that?”

“Because Captain Basch fon Ronsenburg was convicted of treason and _supposedly_ executed two years ago. The problem with this story, however, is that I know for a fact that he’s both innocent and he’s alive and well.”

Their eyes were wide when I was done.

“Why would you want people to know he’s alive?” One of the other boys asked.

“Because he’s one of my companions and if the word spreads that he’s here in town it will open doors for me that would otherwise be locked up tight,” I explained. “So when you’re telling this story, be sure to give a description of me okay? And say that I was talking to a tall, scarred, blond man.”

At their nods I grinned at them and stood up. “Alright then, get going!”

They scattered and I laughed as I turned to make my way back to Fran, Basch, and Balthier. I wove through the crowd and back to where I’d left the three of them. When they came into view and Balthier spotted me, my smile widened. I had been right, none of them were pleased that I’d gone off on my own.

“And just what exactly was this plan of yours that you had to go off on your own little over an hour after losing most of your blood and almost dying,” Balthier asked as I sauntered up. Basch looked about as angry as Balthier sounded.

“Put yourself into the mindset of a street kid, Sparrow. You and Basch would have sent them running before I could have gotten a word out.”

“Street kids?” Balthier furrowed his brows. “What do street kids possibly have to do with spreading word that the good Captain here is in fact alive?”

“Street kids,” I began with a small smile. “Are the most resourceful type of person I’ve ever met. Give them a little gil, a bit of time, and some good incentive and they can move metaphorical mountains. Specifically; metaphorical mountains of the informational variety. Give it an hour and a half, if I read those kids right we’ll be seeing results by then.”

“What shall we do to pass the time whilst we wait,” Basch asked without a trace of anger left, his tone suggesting he would trust my judgement on this.

I hummed softly, turning to face the street and smoothly linking my arm with Fran’s.

“We mingle. Drop Cap’s name during casual conversation with as we walk through the market,” I said as I led Fran down the street.

“Why would we need to do that, what were the street kids for if you’re just going to spread the information yourself?” Balthier was still questioning my plan and I smiled over my shoulder at him.

“Because I gave the kids a specific story to spread. We’re just going to be talking among ourselves and when we pass fairly close to someone who we think would eavesdrop on the conversation of others…” I fell silent for a moment as we neared the hearing range of someone I felt fit my description, holding one finger subtly higher than the rest to indicate they should remain quiet too. Then I started speaking again.

“I’m just saying that you may want to careful, Captain Basch. There’s no telling how resistance factions might respond to the news that you’re alive.” There was a man leaning against the wall ahead of us, a girl standing in front of him talking to him. I’d spotted the gloss over his eyes that told me he wasn’t listening to a word she said, and we were in a quieter street.

I knew that there was a good chance that if he heard a new voice or sound, that his brain would most likely hone in on that sound and he would eavesdrop whether he meant to or not.

Balthier caught on and hummed thoughtfully as we passed the pair. “You say that like you don’t think he already knows that.”

“I can assure you,” Basch began, “That I am fully aware of the risks.”

“Alright, alright,” I sighed. “I guess I’ll just have to support you, then. After all, I do hate to see an innocent man imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit.” The man and woman were now listening intently as our group neared the bend in the alley that would take us out of their line of sight.

I heard a quiet scoff from the man leaning against the wall just as we fell out of sight and I reached a hand out to squeeze Bach’s arm gently.

“We’ll prove it, Basch,” I whispered softly. He nodded in response and I looked ahead again as we came to the market.

An hour and ten minutes later, I heard the first retelling of the rumor I’d given the kids and I grinned.

“Come on then, I’ve got a promise to keep,” I said as I headed in the direction of the alley I’d met the kids in.

When I got there they were all waiting and I grinned when they perked up slightly at my footsteps. They were definitely wary of my companions but I gave them a calming smile and held up a hand for the others to stay a little bit behind me.

“It’s alright, remember what I told you; they may look a little scary, but they’re not in the habit of harming kids. Let me introduce them to you?”

At the hesitant nod of the leader I grinned and turned to motion to each of my companions.

“The Viera is Fran, she doesn’t talk much but she’s very sweet. My Hume friend with the smirk on his face who looks like he’s got too much money is Balthier, the sky pirate. He’s pretty decent once you make it past all his scathing sarcasm and get to know him.”

“You wound me, Songbird,” he said, placing a hand over his chest in mock offense. I heard a couple giggles from the kids behind me and I grinned at him.

“You’ll survive, Sparrow,” I said before gesturing to Basch. “Finally, this is the man of the hour himself. Captain Basch fon Ronsenburg, falsely accused of treason and left to waste away beneath the Nalbina dungeons for two years while the rest of the world thought he was dead.” The man knelt down to be at eye level with the children and gave them a kind smile.

“Words cannot express my gratitude,” he told them. “You all have helped me greatly.”

I turned and held out the rest of the money I’d promised.

“You five did a fantastic job. Here’s the rest of your gil; you earned it. Go get yourselves some food.” The leader reached out to take the gil from my outstretched hand and then they all ran off, disappearing around a corner. I straightened my legs out of the crouch I’d been in and turned around with a grin.

“Now, Cap, shall we continue name dropping you around the market?”

At Basch’s nod I moved to step out of the alley only for my way to be blocked by a Bangaa and a Hume. Looking over my shoulder I saw three more Humes cutting off the alley behind us.

“You four. Come with us.”

I sighed and smirked at the Bangaa. “It would be my pleasure, though I don’t think you’d have given us much choice.”

Balthier turned his head to mutter in my direction, “Must you sass everyone you meet?”

The only response he got was a soft, huffing laugh as I followed the strangers out of the alley. We were led into a storeroom behind one of the taverns; it reminded me more of a prohibition era speakeasy than a storeroom, but I figured that was a necessity since they were rebels.

“This is them, Havharo. Heard her call one of ‘em ‘Cap’ m’self. Guessin’ Cap is short for Captain.” One of the men behind us pushed me forward and I nearly fell, still being low on blood and slightly weak, but Balthier hooked an arm around my shoulders from behind and pulled me upright again.

I hummed softly, both in thanks to Balthier and to confirm what the man who had spoken was saying.

“You’d be right,” I said in a confident voice as I examined the people gathered in the room. Havharo, who I guessed was either the leader or the highest ranking person present, was most likely the man sitting at the head of the table in the middle of the room. He had an air of authority, even with the girl leaning casually on the back of his chair.

“You’re hardly in a position to sound so confident, girl,” one of the people at the edge of the room sneered and I stepped away from Balthier, squaring my shoulders in defiance. “You nearly fell from just that little love tap on your back.”

I aimed a frigid smile in the direction of the sneer. “Yes, well, you would probably find yourself weakened as well if you were in my position.” My eyes scanned the room as I spoke. “Three hours ago I fought four headhunters at once, alone, and then managed to make it out of the Lhusu Mines afterward despite having lost a significant amount of blood.”

“Hah!” The Bangaa barked a laugh as he came around to join the other occupants of the room. “A little thing like you? Take on four headhunters? I’d sooner believe Captain Basch’s innocence.”

I chuckled softly. “Funny you should mention that,” I began. “Because that happens to be _just_ as true as me fighting those headhunters and surviving.”

“Let’s say we were to believe you,” Havharo said, derailing the oncoming argument. “Why now? Why after two years does he show his face and claim his innocence now?”

“Well for one,” I started with a slow smile. “The Empire has kept him in a pit under Nalbina for the past two years. Not much you can do to defend your name or prove your innocence when you’re stuck in the dark with no way out.”

“If that’s true then how is he here now? No one escapes Nalbina,” Havharo pointed out, seeming to think he’d found a flaw in my story. My smile turned to a smirk.

“I did.” At the several shocked gasps I heard, my smirk widened. “My two friends to my right escaped with me, along with my 16-year-old brother. During our escape, we stumbled upon Captain Basch and… freed him, however unintentional it was at first on the parts of my companions.”

There was a silence as my words sunk in.

Again, it was the Bangaa who laughed at my claim.

“First you claim to have fought four headhunters, now you claim to have escaped an inescapable dungeon? Don’t make me laugh!”

I was quickly growing tired of being mocked, so I let my irritation bleed into the Mist, making the atmosphere slightly heavier.

“It seems to me that you’re already laughing; I don’t think I have much to do with it at all,” I said in a dark growl, the Bangaa’s laugh cutting off as the people in the room sensed the change. I heard Balthier hiss my name, and cleared my throat. “Since it appears that you are incapable of taking _me_ seriously, I’ll just let the Captain speak for himself. Perhaps he can sway you where I couldn’t.”

I turned my back to the rebels and walked back behind the others to lean against the wall next to the entrance, crossing my arms and closing my eyes as I listened to the voices around me. They were wondering about the feeling in the air.

“Before I begin…” Basch trailed off, then said my name and I cracked an eye open to see him looking at me expectantly. “Perhaps you could alleviate this feeling in the air? An uncomfortable audience does not make for a very receptive one.”

I shrugged and closed my eye again, leashing my irritation. The atmosphere in the room returned to normal and I heard Basch apologize to them.

“Though my companion may seem harmless due to her stature, I can assure you that her temper and tenacity more than make up for any weakness her size may give.”

There were a couple scoffs from the people in the room, but most of them stayed quiet, remembering that I had presumably been behind the heaviness in the air moments ago. I took a deep, quiet breath through my nose as Basch launched into his tale; hearing it again -that his own twin betrayed him- didn’t infuriate me any less than it had the first time I’d heard it, but this time I knew enough to keep my temper on its leash.

“I knew there must be more to it, but to find you at the end of this tale…” Havharo said, sounding thoughtful, and he gave a short laugh. “Ah, to see the Marquis’ face when he learns of it.”

_‘If he’s not already aware.’_

_‘He…seemed like he would have rather eaten his robes than work with the Empire though.’_

_‘No, he seemed that way about working with **Vayne**. We both know that, by now, Vayne is probably knee deep in whatever plan sets him as the antagonist. Which means that “Empire” is probably not wholly synonymous with “Vayne” at the moment.’_

_‘Fair point.’_

“-eeting with the Marquis,” I was pulled from my thoughts by an accented voice and opened my eyes to see that someone who appeared to be a palace servant had stepped from the shadows. “We shall expect you at the estate.”

I raised an eyebrow at Basch as the man walked past me without so much as a glance. The others in my group made to follow him so I assumed we were finished with these people and turned to walk out the door, only to hear Havharo call out from behind me.

“Wait, girl,” he said, making me pause with a foot on the first step and glance back at him. “You truly defeated four headhunters at once?”

“Nearly at the cost of my own life,” I confirmed softly, turning to walk back into the room and stand under the single light. I lifted the edge of my shirt just enough to fully reveal my scar from the bullet wound. I noticed a couple people wince and heard a few gasps, but the Bangaa and Havharo both laser focused on the scar. “A dislocated shoulder, a bullet through my abdomen, and two deep gashes on my arm and leg respectively. If I had been just a little deeper in the mines when I fought them, the blood loss would have proven fatal.”

“Where were your comrades?” The Bangaa growled, glaring past me.

“They did exactly what I told them to do. They trusted me to neutralize the threat,” I said with a smile, lowering my shirt back down to mostly hide my scar again. “Which I did.”

Alright, technically Basch had been following Larsa and Vaan and he had no idea what I was doing; but Fran and Balthier had known and trusted me to make it out of the mine alive.

I turned to go back to the stairs, stopping just inside the doorway. “Some friendly advice; just because someone looks harmless, doesn’t mean that they are. Never judge possible threats based solely on appearance. If you keep that in mind it just might save your life someday.”

With that, I continued up the stairs, my three companions following right behind me. When we got into the main tavern area I pulled a few gil out and whistled to draw the attention of the man behind the counter.

When he looked I held up the gil, then pointed to an orange and set the money on the bar top at his nod.

“What is it with you and oranges,” Balthier asked lowly as I grabbed the fruit and headed for the exit, beginning to peel as I walked.

“They’re juicy, good for me, and most importantly, peeling them helps me focus on something besides the noise of the crowds or my more troubling thoughts,” I told him, letting Basch lead the way to the Marquis’ estate.

“How could peeling an orange possibly distract you from noises or thoughts?” Balthier sounded slightly confused and I laughed softly, popping an orange slice in my mouth and humming contentedly as I bit down.

“It’s difficult to explain, Sparrow. The closest I can get to an accurate description would probably be… tactile distraction? Even that’s not quite right, but it at least gives you a general idea. The feeling of the peel separating from the fruit and the sections separating from each other is calming to me. It distracts me from other, less pleasant things in my environment-”

“We’ve been expecting you,” I was cut off before I could say more by one of the Marquis’ guards. “His Excellency the Marquis awaits.”

“Like guard _mutts_ ,” I muttered as the guard who had interrupted me turned to lead us into the estate. I heard a soft snicker from Balthier’s general area and smirked.

Apparently being “expected" did _not_ mean that we would have our audience immediately; we were told that the Marquis would be busy until sunset and were led to a room where we could wait in comfort. After my fourth lap around the extravagant room and my third glance at the balcony behind french style double doors, I dragged a hand through my hair and let out a frustrated growl.

“Why don’t you sit down,” Balthier suggested without looking up from the book he’d plucked from one of the bookshelves in the room. “Pacing won’t make night fall any faster you know.”

“I’m aware, Sparrow, but _Draga mea_ is somewhere in this palace. Along with my brother, my jacket, and my previously kidnapped sister,” I muttered, staring hard at the door to the rest of the palace. There were sure to be guards just outside it. “Who, by the way, I still haven’t seen for myself since being sent to Nalbina.”

“I’m sure everything will be just fine, stop worrying so much,” he said, turning a page.

I scrubbed a tired hand over my face, looking to the balcony one more time before turning from it entirely and going to the door.

“What are you doing?” Basch asked as my hand landed on the door knob.

Instead of answering, I opened the door and was met with two guards glaring down at me.

“My little sister Penelo is Lord Larsa’s personal guest,” I told the guard without preamble. “She was kidnapped and I haven’t had the chance to make sure she’s truly safe. If you would be so kind, please inform His Highness that Lady Samantha wishes to ascertain the well being of her sister with her own eyes.”

“You’re not in a position to make demands,” the guard told me rudely. A cold smile took form on my face.

“I made no demands,” I said in an equally cold voice. If there was one thing my taste in media and literature had done, it had equipped me to navigate nobility and their guards. “I simply requested. I even said please. It would hurt no one to ask His Highness if he would allow me to see my sister. It’s not as if he knows who my travelling companions are, he only knows that I’m a very protective older sister. I assure you, he will think nothing of me following her here to ensure her safety.”

The guard blinked at me once- twice- three times before a very tired sigh pushed out of his chest. “Very well. I’ll have a servant deliver your request, but if it is denied then that will be the end of it.”

I nodded once.

“You have my thanks,” I murmured, shutting the door. I turned to meet three gazes that were a mix of exasperated and amused in varying levels.

“Since when have _you_ been a courtier?” Balthier finally asked in a disbelieving tone. I smirked.

“A popular setting for many young adult books on Earth was a royal court,” I said. “You already know I’m a quick learner, and I’ve been reading those stories for nearly thirteen years. I picked up a few tricks along the way. This may not be the Seelie Court, and it certainly isn’t the Unseelie Court, but dealing with these people as if they were a Fae Court will get me much farther than my temper and threats ever could.”

“Seelie? Unseelie? What are those? And what is a ‘Fae’?” Basch asked me. I grinned.

“Fae are fairies. Seelie are the summer fairies, still silver-tongued and untrustworthy -especially the Seelie Queen’s Court- but decidedly less malicious than their Unseelie counterparts,” I explained, leaning against the wall and crossing my arms. “Unseelie are the winter fairies, generally depicted as darker -colder- than their summer themed cousins. Seelie are most often described with warm skintones and vibrant earthy colors for their hair, eyes, and clothes; whereas the Unseelie are said to be pale white with either white, pale blonde, or black hair, light colored eyes, and black, white, or greyscale clothing.”

“Are these… real creatures in your world?” He sounded vaguely intrigued and I hummed.

“There are some who still believe in them,” I said softly. “But the majority of my world’s population either believes in science or the God of their respective religion. Some believe in both God and science; those people are generally my favorite, they tend to be the most reasonable when faced with new ideas or opposing views.”

“God? As in only one?” This had interested Balthier, apparently, who had actually put his book down to listen when I’d brought up Earth.

“The two most populous religious systems on Earth are monotheistic, they only believe in one god. The number of people who follow the polytheistic religions are… dwindling,” I explained sadly. I’d never prescribed to a specific religion, instead preferring to acknowledge and appreciate the art and culture that every religion had contributed to the shared history of humanity.

“How can there be people who only believe in one god and people who believe in many? How can they not know who the gods of their world are?” Basch was perplexed and even Fran seemed interested to hear the answer.

“Because unlike this universe and the 15 other similar universes linked to it; if there is _a_ God or if there are _multiple_ gods, there is no visual proof. Vaan came face to face with an actual goddess when we were sent to Nalbina, Vayne -presumably in the same timeframe- was summoned by that same world’s god, the counterpart to the goddess that summoned Vaan, Noctis and his crownsguard are travelling their world as we speak to collect the blessings of the _Astrals_ -gods with physical bodies on the physical plane, the Warrior of Light on Hydaelyn battles the world’s Primals to maintain a delicate balance.

“Each of those examples I just gave you are things that are regarded as pure _fantasy_ in my world. God or gods don’t have forms on the physical plane. The gods of the many religions on Earth exist solely as a… concept. A story. An idea to cling to and have faith in when things go wrong, or to praise and rejoice in when things go right.

“Whether or not Earth has one God or many gods isn’t for me to determine; I was content with simply observing the cultural contributions from the myriad religions and hoping that they didn’t destroy the planet in a misguided attempt to ‘save’ people of different beliefs.”

I sighed and closed my eyes as I leaned my head back against the wall, letting all the information I’d just dumped on them soak in. Basch was the first to speak.

“Would they truly destroy everything to force their beliefs on others?”

I huffed a small humorless laugh through my nose and smirked, not opening my eyes.

“My dear Captain, Archadia and Rozzaria war -I assume- simply to prove which of them has the bigger… ahem, _military power_ ; and you question if men could kill each other over what they believe happens to the soul upon death?”

“The lady makes a very good point, Captain,” Balthier said softly into the silence that followed.

Before anything else could be said, a sharp knock came at the door and my eyes snapped open. I shrugged off the wall and went to open the door, finding myself face to face with the guard.

“Lord Larsa has accepted your request, please follow me. The rest of you are to remain here.”

I smiled over my shoulder at the others. “I’ll be back soon, don’t worry.”

The door closed, cutting off Balthier’s grumble, and I followed the guard down the hallway.


	15. I Knew She'd be a "Royal" Pain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Son of a bitch" is quickly becoming a state of mind for Reader.

I followed the guard through twisting hallways and up a flight of stairs- it seemed that we had been kept literally as far away from Larsa as the building would allow. I didn’t exactly blame them; they wanted to keep Basch a secret from the Empire. The closer he was to the area Larsa was staying in, the more likely an Imperial would discover the Marquis’ other guest.

Finally the guard stopped at an ornate wooden door and I suppressed an irritated grumble. At least it didn’t seem nearly as extravagant as the Dalmascan palace. At his knock, I heard Larsa’s voice call for us to enter and as soon as the guard opened the door, I swept past him into the room.

It was just as extravagant as the door, but the aesthetic was something I could appreciate. There was a wall missing on the left side of the room that gave way to a stunning view of Bhujerba over the barrier that was presumably there to keep people from falling. There was a desk in front of the far wall of the room and a sofa off to the side. A sofa that Vaan and Penelo were sitting on.

“Penni,” I said softly as soon as my eyes landed on her. She got up and rushed forward to meet me in the middle of the room, crashing into my open arms. Vaan wasn’t far behind her, but stopped before he joined the hug; giving me a moment to make sure Penelo was okay.

“You may leave, now,” Larsa dismissed the guard behind me in a polite yet bored tone and I smiled over Penelo at him. “Lady Samantha is not a threat to me, she merely wishes to make sure her sister is well.”

“As you wish, Your Highness,” the guard said. “Lady Samantha, I’ll be right out here when you’re ready to return.” I took a hand off Penelo’s back to wave vaguely over my shoulder and I heard the door close.

I released Penelo finally and pulled back to get a good look at her.

“Are you alright?” I asked, gaze roving over her to make sure she was truly safe. “Did they hurt you?” She laughed softly and shook her head.

“No, I’m fine. I promise. I was really scared, but they never hurt me…”

The way she trailed off made me narrow my eyes. “They threatened to, though,” my voice held no question but she nodded anyway.

“They did.”

My hands tightened on her shoulders slightly but my thought process -which had been quickly turning violent- was derailed by Vaan dropping my jacket onto my shoulders. I pulled Penelo back in for another hug.

“They won’t be coming for you anymore; I can promise you that,” I whispered. “If they try they’ll regret it. I made sure they knew that when I left them.”

“You fought them,” Larsa concluded, which had Penelo pulling out of my hug with a gasp and Vaan coming around to glare at me as I nodded once, sliding my arms into my jacket finally.

“Of course. Of course you stayed to fight them,” Vaan groaned when I started to smile.

“At least tell me someone was with you,” Penelo cried.

I hummed. “No, I’m afraid the others thought it would be more effective to flee. Though I told Vaan to go make sure you were safe before the others decided to run, Basch didn’t realize I planned on staying behind, and I assume Sparrow was _chasing_ rather than fleeing,” I said as I glanced over to Larsa with a smirk. “Speaking of which, _Draga mea_ , your use of that chunk of nethicite was fantastic. A+ for Comedic Relief.”

Penelo unsteadily echoed the Romanian endearment and glanced back to Larsa. “You know who he is?”

“Oh I’ve known since I first saw him,” I said casually as I strolled over to the desk. I bowed slightly, then reached out to sling my arm around his shoulders. “Lord Larsa Ferrinas Solidor, fourth son of the Archadian Emperor and younger brother of Consul Vayne Carudas Solidor.”

Vaan let out a small gasp. “You knew and you still launched yourself into a skeleton for him?”

“The cinnamon roll must be protected,” I said simply. Larsa’s eyes caught on something and narrowed.

“What exactly is that on your stomach,” he inquired and I winced.

“You noticed that, huh? Guess I should have expected it,” I mumbled.

“Noticed what?” Vaan and Penelo both exclaimed and came around to stand in front of me to see what he was talking about. I lifted the hem of my shirt slightly. My siblings both gasped and Vaan snapped his head up trying to catch my gaze.

“Four against one is a pretty tricky match-up,” I said, not meeting their eyes. “Not many would come out of that unscathed and I wasn’t one of the lucky ones.”

“Sit,” Larsa commanded. “You look like my brother does when he’s been injured and is trying to hide it. Sit.”

I breathed a small sigh and let go of him to lean against the edge of the desk. “This will be as close to sitting as you get me to do, _Draga_. I’m healed, I’m just a little low on blood. I’ll be fine.”

“How were you able to defeat them all by yourself?” Penelo’s voice was small and she looked at me with wide eyes. I opened my mouth to give her a serious answer, but my own thoughts made me pause for a moment.

_‘*Gohan’s voice* But how? I thought you had to have a pure heart to reach Super Saiyan! Like my dad!’_

_‘*Vegeta’s voice* Oh trust me, there’s more than one way to realize the legend-’_

I smirked. “Push-ups, sit-ups, and _plenty_ of juice.”

I was met with three blank stares and sighed softly. “Luck, Penni. Also I was very _very_ angry, which worked in my favor.”

“You could have died!” Vaan yelled suddenly and I raised an eyebrow at him.

“I could have,” I agreed in a calm voice. “But I didn’t, and Ba’Gamnan will most likely never think of crossing me again. He was the only one of the headhunters who could still stand by the time the fight was over, and he was unarmed and trapped by my earth magic. I managed to get myself almost back to the mine entrance before the others found me and they were able to heal me.”

I carefully avoided telling them that the scar on my stomach hadn’t been my only wound; they didn’t need to worry about me any more than they already did. I stood and brushed myself off.

“I’m glad I was able to see you again, _Draga_ , but I have to be going. I'm sorry I couldn't stay longer, but Sparrow and the others are waiting for me.”

He nodded in response. “I am glad you were able to defeat the headhunters, but please have more care for yourself. I cannot imagine what your friends would do if they were to lose you.” I tightened my arm around him before letting go entirely. “Would you permit me to see your siblings safely back to Rabanastre?”

The question caught me off guard and I blinked a couple of times before laughing slightly. “ _Draga_ , it’s not my permission you need. I trust you with my brother and sister unequivocally, but ultimately it’s their choice whether they go with you. I have a feeling you’ll get there before us though,” I glanced at Vaan with a smirk. “Things haven’t exactly been going according to plan for us lately.”

“I… think I’ll go back with Larsa,” Penelo said softly, but Vaan shook his head.

“No, I trust Larsa to keep Penelo safe,” he said, crossing his arms and glaring at me. “ _You_ , on the other hand, apparently can’t be left alone for five minutes without getting yourself into trouble.”

I shot him a narrow eyed pout. “That is an exaggeration, Little Brother. Lies and slander.”

“You’ve taunted a giant flan, multiple mimics, and a Queen Mimic,” he began to list. “You’ve told Vayne Solidor to his face that you’re not a rebel, you’re a thief. You told Balthier that you didn’t care if he left you in a strange city you don’t know anything about. Then as soon as you get left alone you nearly get yourself killed.”

“Lies. And. Slander,” I repeated and he threw his hands in the air.

“Whatever you want to tell yourself; I’m still going with you.”

“Alright, then we should get back to Sparrow, Cap, and Fran. Penni, I'll see you when we get back to Rabanastre," I turned to Larsa and pulled him into a tight hug. "I'll probably see you again eventually too, _Draga_ , but until then please be safe."

I let him go and ruffled Penelo's hair, then turned to Vaan and gently poked the middle of his forehead.

"Let’s get going then, Kid." Vaan reached up to rub his forehead with a tiny scowl and I laughed as I turned to walk to the door.

The guard, as promised, was still standing outside the door and opened the door to come into the room when I knocked on it.

“Are you satisfied?”

“Immensely,” I replied with a grin, sliding my hands into my pockets.

“Vaan will be accompanying Lady Samantha henceforth,” Larsa informed the guard and I smiled frostily at the man, daring him to object. “Penelo will be accompanying me to Rabanastre.”

“As you wish, Your Highness,” the guard said with a bow, then motioned for Vaan and I to follow him out the door. When it became obvious that we weren’t being taken to the gates, Vaan looked at me in confusion. I smiled.

“We wrangled an audience with the Marquis,” I explained in a low whisper. “But apparently he’s busy until after sunset, so we’ve been relegated to a room in the estate to wait.”

I heard a slight hum from Vaan as we turned a corner and I spotted the room I’d left Balthier, Fran, and Basch. The guard opened the door for me and I slipped in with a smile and a nod.

“And that, Lady and Gentlemen, is how you deal with the Seelie Court," I said with a playful bow when the door closed behind Vaan. Fran sighed and shook her head.

"You went off without us in the Marquis' estate without even knowing for sure what side he's on," Balthier pointed out. “And how did you manage to bring Vaan back with you?”

"I'm fairly certain that Marquis Ondore is on the same side as any politician. His own," I replied, walking over to the bowl of fruit in the room to examine one of the oranges. I sniffed and put it back, walking to the door to the balcony instead. "We'll find out for ourselves soon enough. To answer your other question; Larsa Solidor is just as painfully observant as his older brother. He noticed my scar peeking out and brought it to Vaan and Penni’s attention. Vaan decided that Penelo was safe with the Empire, but that I need to be supervised."

“You _do_ need to be supervised,” Vaan grumbled where he leaned against one of the walls across the room from me.

“He is not mistaken,” Basch said and I gasped dramatically, whipping my head to look over at him.

“Why, Captain,” I responded with a smirk. “Is that a sense of humor I’m detecting?”

“Are you not going to eat an orange while you wait?” Balthier asked, though I thought I could hear a tinge of worry that I wasn’t immediately jumping on the chance to have my favorite fruit. I smiled over my shoulder at him before turning back to watch the city. Sunset was quickly approaching.

“Oranges are for relaxing. For making my stressors easier to ignore. Standing in a pit with a lion is _not_ where you want me to be relaxed, Sparrow.”

The way the colors played across the sky in the distance reminded me of one of the sunsets I’d watched when I was a child. Red and orange blended beautifully at the horizon and contrasted with bright pink into pale purple and finally dark blue across the sky. I raised my hand to rest on the frame of the door with a soft sigh. Home was so far away, and yet sometimes this place could look so much like it.

As the sun sank below the edge of the sky, the town below seemed to sparkle as candles and torches were lit to ward off the darkness. I slowly turned from the balcony to go find a corner to curl up in, only to find Balthier standing behind me. I met his soft green eyes with confusion and he reached out a hand to me, swiping his thumb across my cheek. He did the same thing with the knuckles of the same hand on my other cheek and it was only then that I realized why.

There were tears on my face.

My eyebrows furrowed and I ducked my head to wipe at my eyes and cheeks.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered softly. “This is the last place I should be getting emotional or showing weakness."

"It's alright, Songbird."

I hummed softly and made my way over to the interior corner of the room that was away from the doorway, sinking to the floor and letting my eyes slide shut. It had been far too long since I had visited my Mind Palace; certainly not since any of this excitement started, maybe not since right after I realized where I’d found myself.

So I sank into my consciousness and found my center. My calm.

 _‘Bout time you finally came back down here,’_ my inner voice chided and I rolled my eyes at her.

_‘Don’t be like that. You’ve literally been giving a running commentary of all the shit that’s happened, so you know better than anyone what I’ve had to deal with.’_

_‘So what brings you here?’_

I sighed softly and furrowed my brows. _‘NT happened sometime between that soldier knocking Vaan unconscious and him waking up in Nalbina. If we assume that the ratio of Ivalice:Eos days is 1:1… I need to remember what happened after Costlemark. How long do we have until Opera.’_

My mental image of my inner voice evaporated and in her place I saw details I remembered from Brick in chronological order.

_‘Alright, let’s see here. End of NT… was six hours after Costlemark. That would be about the time Vaan woke up. And… **oh…** ’ _

_‘Something wrong?’_

_‘They went back to Lestallum. That was when they found out about Jared dying. Tomorrow and the next day are her bonding with Iris during hunts and the boys going to Bust-A-Base… Then Cape Caem… Then the Vesperpool a few days later… Then a week to prepare the mithril… It’s nearly two weeks until they even make it to Altissia.’_

_‘And then there will be another week before Leviathan reenacts Sin’s visit to Zanarkand in FFX.’_

_‘And another week or two to recover from Ardyn being a dick before Abby finds out about Earth. A month. We have a little over a month to prepare the others for OO.’_

A knock sounded on the door, pulling me away from my Mind Palace as my eyes opened. Vaan was already standing next to me, offering a hand to help me up. I took it and he pulled me to my feet as Balthier glanced over at us.

"I'm better now, Sparrow, don’t worry. Let's go see the Marquis," I said, nodding at Basch to lead the way. It was his audience, after all.

We were led into a room with the Marquis sitting in an imposing, high-backed chair behind a large, sturdy table. I narrowed my eyes in suspicion as he began talking. I already didn’t trust him and he’d literally only said Basch’s name.

“It was not so very long ago that I announced you had been executed,” he said, and I saw the hint of a smile.

_‘Even if his voice sounds disappointed that Basch is alive, that micro-expression isn’t malicious. The corners of his eyes crinkled just barely; that’s a positive micro-expression, not a negative one.’_

“So you are the sword he has strung above my head,” the man continued, leaning forward and holding back a sigh. “Vayne has left not a thing to chance.”

I narrowed my eyes in thought as Basch told the Marquis he wanted to rescue Amalia.

_‘The conversation we overheard in the mines. He’s been diverting the purest magicite to Vayne…’_

_‘Son of a- Then Vayne really is the one who kept Basch in that hole.’_

_‘We should have realized it. If it will support whatever he’s planning, he’ll go to any length. Basch’s survival despite the Marquis’ announcement was the perfect blackmail to keep Ondore sending the magicite he needs.’_

_‘But what does he need it for?’_

_'I doubt Ondore would know, he’s only a small part of a much larger plan. We’ll just have to wait and see.’_

“This resistance leader, this Amalia, she must be very important,” the Marquis said, which raised a red flag in my head almost immediately. The man stood from his chair and walked to the side of the room, watching us carefully. “You understand I’ve my position to consider.”

I rolled my eyes and tried to fight back a scoff. It was always about positions and power with politicians. A bad feeling coiled in my gut as the Marquis turned to face Basch, leaning on the fancy cane he held with both hands.

“Captain Ronsenburg. Surely the exigencies of position are not lost on you?” His tone as he spoke only made the feeling worse. “Why indeed, you should find the enemy’s chains…” I sucked in a quick breath and my fingers twitched for my weapons, but I was still somewhat weak from all the blood I’d lost so I knew it would be pointless. “…an easy burden to bear.”

I let out a humorless laugh. “I told you, Sparrow. The Marquis is on the side that every politician takes. His own. He only helps people or causes if it will benefit _him_ , and apparently that cause is the Empire. He’s too attached to his precious _position_ and the _power_ it holds to have any interest in helping us.”

“That’s not a very fair assessment of the situation,” the Marquis said in a rather patronizing tone and I glared at him.

“Then what _would_ be a fair assessment, Marquis Ondore?” I sneered, taking a step forward. “Would a fair assessment be that you’re not even on your own side anymore? You’re only able to do the bidding of the Empire like a faithful little lapdog? The same Empire that’s blackmailed you for the past two years just to ensure that you’re sending _them_ the highest grade magicite you get your paws on?”

The man blinked twice in surprise before he took a step forward and looked me straight in the eyes.

“I wear my saddle well,” he echoed the words the Judge had told him and my mind immediately replayed his response.

_‘Be that as it may, I have no intention of being bridled.’_

I took a quick breath, but he’d already seen the recognition flash in my eyes and called for the guard to be summoned. When Basch drew his sword, I reached out to stop his advance without breaking away from the Marquis’ gaze.

“Stop, Basch. We should bide our time,” I whispered. The Marquis nodded imperceptibly.

“What good could possibly come from allowing ourselves to be captured without a fight?”

I finally turned to look at him. “Why don’t we find out, hm?”

Guards poured into the room and captured us, the Marquis stating that we were to be taken to Judge Ghis.

We were chained and locked in cells for the night; apparently we would be leaving for Rabanastre in the morning. I laid on the floor of my cell once the door closed behind me and the guards left, staring at the ceiling. Had I made the right call? Or had I just doomed us to Nalbina again.

I scowled and closed my eyes to try to push the doubts away. I heard someone whisper my name and hummed in response.

“Will you sing the lullaby you sing to Penelo when she can’t sleep?”

That was the closest Vaan would get to admitting it, I knew, but he was scared. Hell, we might have all been scared; if I was Basch I’d be terrified of going back to that pit. I took a deep breath through my nose before sitting up and sliding back to prop my back against the wall separating me from one of the others. Vaan’s voice had come from across the room instead of on the other side of this wall, so I wasn’t sure who was next to me.

“ _Don’t you dare look out your window,  
Darling, everything’s on fire.  
The war outside our door  
Keeps raging on…_”

I slid my eyes closed and focused on the lyrics as they echoed softly through the cell block.

“ _Hold on  
To this  
Lullaby,  
Even when the music’s gone,  
Gone…_”

My fingers itched for a guitar, as they always did when I sang this song.

“ _Just close your eyes,  
The sun is going down.  
You’ll be alright,  
No one can hurt you now.  
Come morning light,  
You and I’ll be  
Safe and Sound…_”

The next part was just Oohs and Las that would be accompanied by the notes of the guitar but it sounded fine on it’s own as my voice floated through the air.

“ _Just close your eyes…  
You’ll be alright…  
Come morning light…  
You and I’ll be  
Safe and Sound…_”

The final words echoed into a silence that no one broke and I curled up in a corner on the floor to go to sleep.

* * *

Bright and early the next morning I was rudely awoken by Imperials slamming into the cell block and clanging around as loudly as possible. I grumbled under my breath as I stood from the floor, moving to the middle of the room to wait for the guards. My cell door opened and the Imperial soldier barked for me to get out.

When I stepped out I saw that there were only two Imperials for the four of us and they hadn’t taken our weapons. I raised an eyebrow in Balthier’s direction. He shrugged slightly, apparently they were confident that we wouldn’t be able to use our weapons since our hands were bound.

We were corralled down hallways until we came to a private airship dock and the wall at the far end of the room separated to reveal daylight. I squinted, the sudden increase in light sending a sharp pain through my head. My steps slowed as I tried to regain my vision but, before the Imperials could notice or Basch got far enough ahead of me to pull the chain connecting us tight, a body pressed into the back of my shoulder to guide me.

“Rather bright, isn’t it?” Balthier’s voice was soft and low and I hummed once, letting the faint smell of sandalwood relax me while I adjusted to the light.

When I could open my eyes again I was far from comforted; an airship big enough to qualify as a floating fortress was outside, accompanied by multiple other smaller ships. I cleared my throat and looked at the ground as we were led onto a smaller ship that would take us to the one in the sky outside.

_‘I fucked up. I shouldn’t have trusted what I thought I saw. I got Basch sent back to a pit and put Balthier in danger of being taken by headhunters, all because I think I’m better at reading people than I am.'_

“Songbird,” Balthier whispered and I looked over my shoulder to meet his eyes. “Don’t blame yourself. Even if you hadn’t stopped Basch, we were caught the minute we stepped into the estate.” I pursed my lips before nodding at him, and braced myself as the craft we’d boarded launched out of the dock.

On the airship we were first taken to the commander, Judge Ghis. As soon as the doors opened I saw a familiar light blonde haircut and hissed a curse, narrowing my eyes as the woman turned around. When she saw us she gasped in surprise.

All I had to hear was the word “Majesty” come out of Basch’s mouth and I knew I’d been right in the waterway. “Amalia” was Princess Ashe.

_‘Son of a bitch, he met a princess in a sewer.’_

_‘I told you you’d be surprised at the answer to that.’_

She walked up quickly, only to bitch slap Basch and my shoulders tensed. The desire to defend my friend, even from his own princess, was strong and I had to bite back a snarl.

“After what you’ve done! How dare you! You’re supposed to be dead.”

“So, Princess,” I drawled sarcastically, distracting her from Basch. “How’s the weather, up there on your high horse?”

“What are you even still doing in chains?” She asked. “I figured since you’re obviously such a supporter of Vayne you’d be free to go.”

“I’d rather support someone willing to shoulder the world for their brother than support a child who’s only resisting out of some misguided and pathetic desire for revenge,” I spat back with venom. “But if you must know, _Princess_ , I support neither of you. I couldn’t give less of a damn who wins or loses this war.”

“I don’t know why I expected a thief to worry about anything more than her next target,” she sneered and I took a threatening step forward.

“Big talk coming from a woman who watched me taunt a giant flan to keep her spoiled, holier-than-thou ass _alive_. If that’s what you think, then why don’t you volunteer to be my next mark. Maybe I can do us all a favor and find the stick that’s been shoved so far up your ass-”

“Ladies!” Judge Ghis barked, cutting me off. “Enough. Have you forgotten your manners? This is hardly the courtesy due the late princess Ashelia B’nargin Dalmasca.”

I snorted. “Oh my God, even your _name_ is pretentious.”

“I said enough!” Ghis snapped at me. I smirked back at him and lifted my still chained together hands to wiggle my fingers at him in a cutesy wave.

“Princess?” Vaan sounded shocked and I looked over to raise an eyebrow at him. He narrowed his eyes back at me. “How was I supposed to know you weren’t just being sarcastic?”

“Fair point,” I conceded and turned back to Ghis.

“She bears no proof of her former station,” he said, walking up to her where she still stood in front of Basch. Coincidentally that meant he was standing almost directly in front of me. “No different than any mean* member of the insurgence.”

“The resistance,” Ashe corrected, sounding just as haughty as she had when she’d corrected Vayne.

“His excellency the Consul asks the ministry of the dethroned royal family in restoring peace to Dalmasca,” Ghis said, sounding smug. “Those who foster instability and unrest, who claim royal blood without proof… They shall meet their fate at the gallows. There are no exceptions.”

Ashe whipped around in outrage. “I will not play puppet to Vayne!”

“King Raminas entrusted me with a task,” Basch rumbled from his spot next to me when it was apparent the Judge had no reply. “Should the time come, he bade me give you something of great importance. It is your birthright: the Dusk Shard.”

He looked to Ghis. “It will warrant the quality of her blood. Only I know where to find it.”

I furrowed my eyebrows in thought for a moment before realization came to me.

_‘Sorcerer’s Stone.’_

_‘Most likely, but Basch should know that Vaan has it. He saw it yesterday when Vaan offered it to Balthier in exchange for a ride to Bhujerba.’_

_‘So then what’s his play?’_

“You took my father’s life! Why spare mine now? You would have me live in shame?” Ashe sounded confused and suspicious and I spoke up first.

“There’s always another side to every story, Princess.”

“Stop being so stubborn,” Vaan interjected. “Keep on like this and you’re gonna get us all killed.”

“Don’t interrupt,” Ashe told him, like he was a petulant child. I stepped forward again, this time with the snarl I had repressed before.

“Then how about I interrupt. I’d rather not die on this floating hunk of metal and the more you talk, the more likely that outcome is.”

Suddenly a humming sound started and I felt the Mist shift around me as if reacting to it. I turned to see the magicite Vaan had taken from the palace vault glowing softly and I hissed a breath.

“Vaan, that stone!” Basch had turned to see it too.

“It- it was in the palace treasury.”

I looked up to meet Balthier’s eyes as he stared at me with a smirk. “Well, well. And you wanted to destroy it,” he quipped playfully. I rolled my eyes.

“You’re damn straight I wanted to destroy it. Still do.”

Judge Ghis started to laugh. “Splendid! You’ve brought the stone with you! This spares us a great deal of trouble!” My eyes narrowed. That sounded like the opposite of a good thing.

_‘Vayne was getting pure magicite from the Marquis. This chunk is pure enough that it’s resonating with the Mist and reacting to the presence of the princess.’_

_‘Son of a bitch. They don’t give a **damn** about “the ministry of the dethroned royal family in restoring peace”, they just wanted to find that fucking rock.’ _

As Judge Ghis held his hand toward Vaan, waiting for him to hand over the fancy glowing rock, I bared my teeth at the floor and tried to think of a way out of this mess.

“You have to promise; no executions,” Vaan said, hesitantly handing the shard over.

I let out a brooding hum at Ghis’ response after he’d taken the Dusk Shard. “A Judge’s duty is to the Law.”

He ordered us taken away and said that Ashe was to be quartered separately. As the guards dragged us out and led us down hallways I felt an air of defeat hanging over Vaan and Ashe in particular, though the princess was separated from us almost immediately.

“So you were carrying it all along,” Basch said softly to Vaan. “The Fates jest.”

“Tell these Fates of yours to leave me out,” Balthier said, making me grin at him.

“You took the words right out of my mouth, Sparrow.” He gave me a cheeky little smirk.

The guard shouted at us to keep quiet and I just barely resisted turning to stick my tongue out at him.

“There was nothing else I could do. You know that,” Basch told Balthier.

“Oh, I understand. Honor, duty, and all that,” Balthier responded. The tone of his voice made me wonder just how _much_ he understood. I jumped and let out a startled squeak at the feeling of an armored hand gripping the curve of my ass, drawing looks from the rest of my group.

Vaan was the first to say something, though Basch spoke soon after him and Balthier looked low-key ready to murder someone. Something about the look in his eyes promised violence.

“Get your filthy Imperial hands off my sister!”

“It is rude to touch a lady without her permission.”

Once the shock of being groped by a complete stranger wore off, a slow smile came to my face.

“Calm down,” I told my friends. Even Fran had a death glare leveled on the Imperial whose hand was still firmly cupping me. I met Balthier’s nearly murderous stare and nodded slightly, trying to tell him I could handle it. “Our Imperial friend here has _obviously_ skipped a few of his required classes.” I turned to face the soldier with my most flirtatious smile and raised my hands to rest them gently against his chest.

“Lesson number one: Consent. When a woman says no, she means no.”

“You certainly don’t look like you’re saying no,” the Imperial said, sounding like he thought he was going to get anywhere with me. I batted my eyes at him, a picture of innocence.

“Lesson number two: Respect. A woman’s body is not an object to be possessed, nor is it there for men to touch whenever they decide to. Women have minds, they have feelings, and you would do well to remember that.”

The grip the soldier had tightened slightly when he realized I might not be as willing as I’d led him to believe a moment earlier. I had no doubt that, given the chance, he probably would have tried to force me. Which brought me to my third point.

“Lesson number three,” I began, lowering to a whisper like I was about to tell him a secret. “Just because I cannot reach my sword or dagger, does not mean that I pose no threat.”

As soon as the words left my mouth I activated the air magic that I’d been inconspicuously gathering and pressurizing under my palm and against the soldier’s chest. It burst outward from my palm like a shock wave after an explosion, sending the Imperial flying to crash against the wall. He didn’t get up. The other two guards escorting us lunged to detain me, only for Balthier to snatch a spear from the one running past him and knock the guard out cold by slamming the handle into him.

_‘Well that was attractive.’_

_‘Now is not the time for our mutual thirst, brain.’_

I turned to the guard that had been behind us to find a fourth Imperial throwing him to the floor. I braced myself for an attack, but instead of charging, the newcomer reached up and removed his helmet. Basch stepped past me.

“The Marquis has been busy,” he said to the man and I relaxed slightly. I’d been right to trust my instincts last night.

"Not lightly did I beg his aid,” the unnamed man replied, unlocking the manacles on Basch’s wrists. “Listen, it has been a full two years. I alone have kept Her Majesty safely hidden. I doubted friend and foe alike. I could trust nobody.”

“Well that was unexpected,” I whispered to myself as Basch stepped to the side so our new friend could unlock the rest of our restraints. The man didn't move yet.

“You did your duty. And mine for me,” Basch said.

“I’m getting her out. I need your help.”

I shut my eyes with a tired sigh as Basch agreed to what I assumed were the terms of our release.

_‘So this is how it happens…’_

_‘Apparently so.’_

I opened my eyes when I felt my hands being lifted, seeing the newcomer inserting a key into the lock on my manacles. They clicked open and I eagerly slipped out of them to rub my wrists gently.

Once everyone was free and our temporary addition to the party was introduced as Vossler, I looked at the hallway we’d just come from.

“I guess we’d better get moving,” I muttered. “We can’t keep Princess Ashe waiting forever.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the Gohan/Vegeta/plenty of juice thing is from TeamFourStar's Dragonball Z Abridged. I know I hype them on pretty much anything I write/post, but they deserve all the hype. Shit's hilarious.
> 
> The lullaby Reader sings is the second verse of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cd8e2ECUHL4
> 
> mean* as in average, not as in malicious. I'm only clarifying because It took me a solid 45 seconds to remember that there is a mathematical definition for the word mean. Then it took me another 5 seconds to remember what that definition was.


	16. Charon's Herald

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Escaping Imperial custody for the second time in 24 hours? Don't forget a mythology lesson, a history lesson, and a healthy dose of sarcasm. :)

Vossler gave us a map of the airship we were on. I looked down at the layout of the _Leviathan_ , already plotting multiple courses through the ship that would get us to our destination.

"That's a silly name," I said, not thinking about the fact that Vossler didn't know about my unique situation, and as such, wasn't used to certain facts of life when it came to being around me. Like not understanding half of anything I said because it was almost entirely references to things that didn’t exist here. "This thing is neither a giant sea serpent from Hebrew mythology, nor is it one of those nightmare demons from Supernatural. Or a bitchy sea-goddess planning on wiping out an entire fucking city just to give a man her permission to be king.”

There was a tense silence for a moment, in which I was blissfully unaware of the panic I’d caused Vaan by basically shouting my secret in this guy’s face as I examined the map, before Vossler turned to me.

“I… Forgive me, _what_?”

I looked up and noticed the look Vaan was giving me, then realized what I said.

“Huh. I’m normally a lot better about keeping my mouth shut,” I said nonchalantly. I ignored Balthier’s and Vaan’s simultaneous scoffs. “Sorry ‘bout that, don’t mind me I’m just talking out loud. So, correct me if I’m wrong but-” I turned back to the map, pointing at a room that was marked on it. “We’re here, and you said that Ashe is being held _here_ , yes?”

He was silent long enough that I looked up, finding him staring at me in confusion. I pursed my lips while I thought for a second.

“You gonna ask me on a date, or answer my question, Soldier?” As I’d expected, my tone of voice, coupled with calling him soldier snapped him out of his musings and he looked back to the map.

“That is correct,” he agreed, leaning forward over my shoulder to get a better look at the map.

“Okay, so the shortest distance would be if we took this door right here-” I pointed at a jaggedly designed room close by. “However, in a military base -which this might as well be- the shortest _distance_ isn’t always the _quickest route_. We’ll have to pass through this room anyway if we were going to take the long way, so when we get there we can observe and assess.”

Vaan folded up the map and put it away, while I made sure to keep a clear image of it in the forefront of my mind. I probably wouldn’t need to look at it again and Vaan was well aware of that little skill of mine.

“She takes the lead,” he told the others, earning confused looks. He shrugged. “I don’t wanna have to keep pulling the map out to check that we’re going in the right direction.”

“And… how will her leading us prevent that?” Vossler asked skeptically.

I smirked and walked to the door of the hallway we’d just come from.

“Better keep up! I’m not gonna sit around and wait while you question every decision we make, Soldier,” I called back over my shoulder as the doors opened. “You asked for our help, this is what that entails.”

I walked carefully down the hall, stopping at the first intersection to see a fucking _laser grid_ of all things barring access to one of the hallways.

“Some _Resident Evil_ shit right there,” I muttered, more to myself.

“A word of caution,” Vossler spoke up and gestured toward the laser grid that I was already staring at. “See that red web of light spanning the passageway?”

“I swear to all of your gods, if you tell me that that hell-net moves -even just an inch- I’ll yeet myself off this airship so fucking fast…” I told him seriously. “I will gracefully Nope right the fuck out of here and y’all can deal with this imminent zombie outbreak on your _own_.”

“It-” he paused again, staring at me like that would give him any answers to his questions.

“Come on, Tall, Dark, and Brooding,” I said. “You got a princess to rescue, what’s so special about this stupid red web of death? Does it spell out our names in morse code before it gruesomely murders us?”

“It cannot hurt you on its own; it is a mechanism to detect intruders within the ship,” he told us. “Break one of those beams and an alarm will sound, summoning the guard.”

“Sounds like a party,” I said dryly, earning myself an elbow to the ribs from Vaan.

“The alarm should cease after a time,” Vossler continued, “but it’s better to avoid unnecessary attention.”

“Preachin’ to the choir here, buddy,” I said, walking past him to look down the alternate hallway that I’d been hoping to take anyway. On the map it had looked like the shortest route and now, with this added obstacle of lasers, it was looking even better.

“You are the last person I thought would agree with that philosophy,” Basch said from behind me and I turned to raise an eyebrow at him.

“Oh? Why do you say that, Capsicle?”

“Because you are constantly, _intentionally_ , drawing enemy attention onto yourself,” he said. Vossler was staring at me again.

“Well, duh,” I replied, rolling my eyes. “That’s when we have to fight though, not when we’re talking about a _completely avoidable situation_. Do I need to remind you that I kicked my own idiot brother in the stomach because he basically did the exact thing we’re talking about right now?”

“Hey!” Vaan tried to protest but I shot him a look.

“You deserved it and you know it, Kid.” I turned back to look down the hallway, seeing guards roaming in the far intersection. Two humans and a guard dog.

_‘This place is intent on piling guilt and self-loathing on us like a fucking blanket, isn’t it?’_

_‘I killed those guards when we escaped Nalbina; not joining fights against humans won’t make me any less guilty. There’s no point in holding back.’_

_‘Not a healthy mind set.’_

_‘Just shove it in a corner of the mind palace, we’ll deal with it never.’_

_‘I don’t think that’s going to work…’_

Lifted my chin confidently and slid my sword and dagger from their sheathes slowly.

“We may be able to get past the lasers, but the guards patrolling the halls apparently have dogs. That means that no matter how stealthy we are, we’ll be fighting because the dogs will smell us,” I told the others, starting down the hall with my blades held casually at my sides.

“Songbird, what are you planning?” Balthier asked warily.

“It’s just a waste of time for me to stay out of battles now, Sparrow,” I replied. “It’s pointless for me to go easy on them. I’m already a murderer; sparing these men won’t bring back the lives I’ve taken.”

The dog’s head snapped up and his vicious bark cut off anything someone might have said in response, drawing the attention of the guards. I smiled.

“Such a good boy, telling your masters we’re here,” I cooed, sending a stream of air to keep the dog far away from me. Killing bats, rats, toads, tomatoes, hell- even humans, I could handle or suppress. Or handle _by_ suppressing. Killing a dog, even an Imperial guard dog, would be going too far. The guards both rushed me and I felt a feral grin cross my face.

I dropped to my knees, sliding under one of the sword swings and blocking the other with Stygian and my dagger crossed over my head. With a gust of air, I launched off the ground and the guard fell backwards a ways, losing his grip on his sword in the process. I slashed downward and the man laughed.

“What kind of strike was that? I’m all the way over here!”

I smirked calmly. “Wait for it.” He took a breath to question, but it was cut off when my air blade sliced deep into his chest plate.

“What are you?!” He cried as I slashed through the air again.

“That depends on who you ask, sir,” I replied, pointing my dagger at the other guard, who was quickly engulfed in a water sphere. The next air blade hit its mark and his chest plate split in two.

“Check,” I said in a deadpan voice, then a thought came to me and I reached out toward the dog without taking my eyes off the guard who was scrambling for his sword. The air stream was cut off, to be replaced by an earthen dome. Sure, dogs could dig, but it would probably take a minute to get out so it bought me time. I darted forward, just as the man’s hand secured its grip on his sword and swung.

Again I dropped to my knees, this time adding a wind barrier to protect my prone position as I slid. As his blade passed over me I thrust Stygian forward, coming to an abrupt stop. I lifted myself off the ground and leaned forward.

“Mate,” I whispered next to his helmet. Then I pulled my sword free of his body and turned away as he slumped to the ground. The others had just finished off the second guard and were now watching me warily as I twirled Stygian quickly, flinging blood off the blade to spatter on the walls like a Jackson Pollock painting.

“The dog still lives,” Vossler noted, looking to the earth dome. There was a small hole in the side now; it wouldn’t hold for much longer.

“Keen observation,” I said as I slid my blades back into their respective sheathes. “Does that mean you’d like to do the honors, Vossler? Because I’m not adding dogs onto the ever growing list of things I’ve brutally slaughtered. My conscience wouldn’t handle it.”

With a curt nod, he strode over to the earth dome. I gave him a word of warning as I dropped the dome and turned my back to return to the body of the Imperial I’d killed. I removed his helmet and closed his eyes with a whispered apology.

“What exactly is she doing,” Vossler asked the others.

“I’m showing my remorse, Soldier,” I said without looking up. “I figure I’ve already given myself a signature, why not keep it up?”

“Because you’re wasting gil,” Vaan spoke up irritably.

“Vaan,” Balthier warned softly.

I stood, looking at the body for another second before turning left and then immediately right. I was met with a laser grid and let out a groan.

“Of _course_ we have to fucking go the long way,” I muttered, whirling to go back around the corner and follow the path to the right. “Should have just listened to my mama. Always go to the right.”

I turned left into the curved hallway that had been blocked by lasers at the end closest to us and spotted a lone guard farther down. Before he could see us and attack or call for help I raised my right hand in the air, palm out with my fingers splayed. The guard was caught in a large sphere of water and Vaan, Basch, and Vossler rushed past me to take him out.

When the first of them swung their swords I dropped the water sphere and followed up with an air blade.

“We are going to have a very serious talk about your guilty conscience after things settle down a little,” I heard Balthier say casually from off to my left and I snorted as he fired a shot at the guard.

“Bold of you to assume things are going to settle down anytime soon,” I quipped, walking forward again to take the lead. “24 hours ago I was killing our way to the oubliette, now I’m killing our way through a floating hunk of Repressed Nightmares in the sky to save a princess that I don’t even _like_.”

“How can you say that about your princess,” Vossler demanded. I grinned over my shoulder at the man as I cut across the room we’d just walked into to enter another hallway.

“Who ever said she was _my_ princess, Soldier?” I could almost see the gears spinning in his head and I heard Basch’s exasperated sigh. “I’m no citizen of Dalmasca; I’m just an outlier who shouldn’t be counted.”

“You need not worry, Vossler,” Basch said, channeling his inner Steve Rogers to give me one of the more effective ‘Disappointed Stare’s I’d been subjected to. I almost felt bad. Almost. “She has proven herself a true ally. She will not let us down.”

I nodded to Basch, grateful that he had that kind of trust in me already. I made our next turn, onto a metal catwalk that would lead us to the room I’d spotted on the map where our path forked, when Balthier piped up helpfully.

“Yes; and she’ll get herself killed in her efforts to ‘not let us down’, Captain.”

I rolled my eyes, even knowing he couldn’t see it, and headed through a hallway into a large, open room. We were on a second level balcony and I crouched down to get a look at what was going on without being too conspicuous.

There was another guard on our level making his way toward us, but he hadn’t spotted us yet. I motioned for the others to stay back and pointed at the guard, then put a finger to my lips while I slid my left index finger across my throat. This room was way too open and there were too many guards for me to want to risk open combat. Balthier, Fran and Vaan had seen what I could do, stealth wise, and pulled the other two men back against a wall.

“ _Are you truly going to leave your friend to fend for herself?_ ” I heard Vossler hiss as I slunk backwards, waiting for the guard to turn around and go the other way.

“Just watch,” Balthier drawled, not sounding happy at all.

“My sister is awesome,” I heard Vaan add proudly. I smirked in his general direction, my eyes staying locked on my target. When the guard turned I ghosted forward, not making a sound, and pulled my dagger free.

I had gained a few magical tricks in my repertoire since my last assassinations, and my dagger was coated with air magic to make it sharper. Then I put a layer of water around my hand and arm, leaving a gap between the magic and my clothes. Any arterial spray would be caught in the water to be evaporated into Mist, leaving my hand and jacket clean.

I darted forward before he could get too far down the walkway, my steps light and quick and silent when compared to the clanking echo of the guard’s armor. I came up behind him and reached around to yank his head back, giving myself access to the same hole in their armor as before. My dagger slid through his throat and forward much cleaner, thanks to the air magic, and he had barely had time to draw a breath -let alone use it to call for help- when he was falling back into my arms. Lifeless.

The water/blood mixture removed itself from me and dissipated a few feet away, leaving the blood to fall to the floor. I followed the same procedure as before, and heard the others shuffle up behind me as I placed the gil over the man’s lips.

“Very efficient,” Vossler complimented. I clicked my tongue in response and stood with a scowl.

“Efficiency has nothing to do with it, Soldier. These men are just normal, everyday men who are following orders,” I said, looking back over my shoulder. Balthier met my gaze steadily. I blinked and looked away, watching three more Imperials round the corner. I sighed through my nose. “They have no great house backing them, or any influence to change the way the Empire functions. They didn’t ask to be stationed between us and Ashe, they just are.”

The guards spotted us and charged forward. Stygian sang as she slid out of her sheathe, much like she had in the mines the day before, slicing a wide arc through the air in front of me. The air became much more dense for a fraction of a second, then the pressure was released and a dual-elemental water and air blade sliced through the space between us, shattering their armor in one try where my regular air blades had taken two.

An arrow imbedded itself in the chest of one man and Basch and Vossler quickly moved to finish off the other two.

“You don’t need to do this, Songbird,” Balthier whispered. I shrugged.

“What would be the point of staying a passive presence? I can’t just murder 8 people and then pat myself on the back and call myself a good person because I _don’t_ murder 8 more. The world doesn’t work that way, Sparrow. I’m a murderer and I’ll have to live with the burden of that knowledge.”

I led the way down the stairs into what I realized was a cargo bay and narrowed my eyes at the door that I’d seen marked on the map. It didn’t _look_ locked, but what did I know? This place was basically a twisted version of a S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier.

There was another guard in front of the door and I spotted one on the second level where our other path would take us as well. No matter which one we chose, someone else would have to die.

“Let’s just get this over with,” I muttered, reaching out to surround the guard in front of the shorter path in a sphere of water. I drew Stygian and dashed forward with the rest of our melee to slash at him as I dissipated the water sphere.

A few sword strokes and a couple arrows later, the guard slumped to the ground and I dragged his body off to the side to treat it like the others. Once he was taken care of, I went to inspect the door and found it to be unlocked.

“Huh. Short route it is, then,” I said softly, leading the way into the halls beyond and taking the path to the right.

There was a lone soldier making his way down the hall, I could hear his footsteps, and I motioned for the others to stop. I took a slow, calming breath and moved to step around the corner, only for Basch to catch me by the shoulder and shake his head.

“You have suffered enough. Let us take this one,” he whispered. I scowled and shook my head.

“What’s the difference between standing by and doing nothing when you know someone is going to die, and being the one to put the knife to their throat and slice, Cap?”

He was silent for a moment and I pulled my shoulder gently out of his grip.

“Exactly. There isn’t one. If his death is going to be on my conscience anyway, I might as well deserve the guilt.”

Arms wrapped around me from behind to hold me in place.

“Then console yourself with the fact that you couldn’t have stopped them,” Balthier murmured in my ear, and Vaan, Basch, Fran, and Vossler disappeared around the corner. I struggled against his grip for a moment before slumping in defeat. “There you go, Songbird, just relax.”

Balthier continued to talk softly, keeping me trapped against his chest, until Basch reappeared around the corner with a small nod. The arms keeping me in place retreated and I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

“I appreciate that you’re trying to spare my conscience or whatever,” I said, opening my eyes as I rounded the corner and walked swiftly down the hall. “But we’re not in a position to accommodate my soft heart any further than letting me show my remorse.”

“Speaking of that,” Vossler spoke up. “Why do you leave a gil on their lips?”

I hummed softly.

“To pay Charon, the Ferryman of the Dead, his fee for carrying the departed soul across the River Styx to the afterlife,” I said simply, knowing I was just going to confuse him more.

“Is this more of that… mythology you told me about after you got here?” Vaan sounded curious and I smiled sadly back at him as a dog rushed at me and I surrounded it with a dome of earth. Its humans weren't far behind.

“Greek mythology, yes. My favorite of the Pantheon would probably be the god of the dead, Hades. He and his two brothers drew lots to decide who would rule what after they defeated their father Kronos,” I told them, falling into my story-telling mode to distract my conscience while I helped fight the melee guard. “Zeus, the youngest of the three, drew dominion of the sky and his weapon was a lightning bolt which he would hurl at those who angered him. Maybe not an impressive concept to you all, but truly a godly power to wield in comparison to magickless mortals. He was named the ruler of the gods.

“Poseidon, the middle of the three, drew the sea to rule over along with everything it contained. His weapon was a trident which had the strength to shake the earth or shatter any object. It’s said he was second in power only to Zeus.” Vossler gave me the word to drop the earth barrier and I did, turning away to focus on the second guard that was shooting at us from a couple yards away.

“Lastly, Hades was given rule of the Underworld and its dead. Since the Underworld was said to exist deep below the Earth’s surface he was also called the God of Riches because all the valuable metals were in his domain. Where his two brothers both had weapons, Hades had the Helm of Darkness. A helmet that could make the wearer invisible.”

Vossler turned to look at me once the second guard was taken down. “Where could you possibly come from that these unfamiliar stories are your mythology?”

I laughed slightly. “A land far, far away, Soldier. A land far, far away.”

There were a couple more guards on the other side of the room that went down fairly quickly as well, and I quickly followed my ritual with the three soldiers I had landed the final strike on before I led us into another hallway. If I had our progression in relation to the map right then we were almost to the princess’ cell. One more corner in this hallway and then a left turn into her cell block.

I came around the corner and came to an abrupt halt, growling in frustration. There was a laser grid.

“Well, we have two options,” I said to the others. “We can either go around the other way and try _that_ side, running into who knows how many more guards and wasting time backtracking; _or_ , we could go through the lasers, fuck up the guards that come for the alarm we trigger, take a single left turn, and reach Ashe’s cell block. I’m taking votes. All in favor of going Leeroy Jenkins and getting this shit over with?” I raised my hand.

Everyone else gave a nod.

“Great, that’s settled then,” I reached out to pass a hand near the lasers. They certainly didn’t _feel_ like Resident Evil death lasers; didn’t sound like them either, there was no audible buzz from them. They seemed like just your average run of the mill laser grid security system. With a shrug I dropped my hand and stepped through the grid. When I made it to the other side still in one piece I turned around with a grin, having to shout over the alarm I’d set off.

“Come on, come on! Let’s go celebrate the fact that I’m not dead right now!” I cried happily, turning and darting to the room that was coming up. The one with the door separating us from Ashe’s cell.

A single guard was all that seemed to respond to the alarm going off and I blinked a couple times before flinging my hand out in front of me. Two water javelins shot through the air and into the armor of the guard and I turned to raise an eyebrow at Vossler.

“Seriously? _One guard_? For a _security breach_?”

Vossler shrugged in reply as he went past me to attack the guard. I turned left and started towards the door. They wouldn’t need any help against a single guard. I looked through the glass door while I waited for the others. It looked like there were three guards at the far end of the next room and I couldn’t be sure, but one of them looked to have armor that was more bronze than silver.

_‘A Judge, then? Basch’s brother’s armor had a similar coloring.’_

_‘Most likely. I’ll draw attention so it’s easier for the others to take out the rest.'_

_'One of these days your plans are going to get us both killed.'_

The rest of the group caught up and I led the way through the door, the others following suit as I drew my weapons. I scanned the Imperials, who had noticed our approach and gathered. I smiled wickedly at the Imperial in the lead as Vossler called out advice.

“Fear not their numbers! Take down their leaders and the rest will follow!”

I turned to see three more soldiers coming up behind us; one was another Judge. Fantastic.

“That’s some great advice there, Soldier,” I said, drawing Imperial attention to me. I grinned, twirling my sword. Then I slashed it in an arc through the air and dashed forward, staying behind the blade of air I’d sent out.

“Though I’d feel a bit better about it if it didn’t give me ‘Custer at the Battle of Little Big Horn’ vibes,” I added as an afterthought, coating Stygian’s blade to make her sharper as I slashed at one of the guards. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted a guard casting cure and I hit the guard I was fighting with a pressurized air blast to knock him away so I could sprint for the caster instead.

“The Battle of Little _what_?” I heard Basch ask after a grunt of exertion.

I swung Stygian hard at the healer as they finished their cast and they stumbled backwards in surprise as I laughed.

“Yeah silly name, I know, but it was a battle that took place in a Native American village near the Little Big Horn River.” I glanced over to see Basch straining against a strike he’d blocked and threw a few earth javelins in the Imperial’s direction.

“Vossler’s advice reminded you of this battle?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say it reminded me of the _battle_ so much as it could be used as a summary for Custer’s orders.” I sent a water javelin flying forward at the caster I was fighting, followed by another slash of my sword as Basch took advantage of the opening I’d created for him.

“Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer, in his infinite military wisdom, ordered his troops to attack a force of over 1,000 men,” I said, lunging forward to kill the caster. My eyes closed and I whispered an apology to him as I pulled Stygian free and he fell to the floor.

“Why do you say it like that? Is 1,000 troops really so overwhelming?” Basch asked as I turned to find another target. One of the Judges was advancing on Balthier and, with a snarl, I launched myself toward him.

“No, not necessarily; in fact, it’s actually a pretty small detachment as far as armies go.” I materialized my scythes and my hands immediately wrapped themselves around the handle of the earth scythe. I twisted around as my magic propelled me through the air and put all my weight behind my slash. “However; Custer only had 200 men, all of whom were exhausted from travelling for nearly three days with virtually no rest. He had no reinforcements, no supplies, and no heavy weaponry.”

“A fool,” the Judge I had attacked gave his input as he regained his footing to face me. “Much like you are for thinking you can defeat two Judges!”

“Oh, sweetheart,” I drawled, smiling at him as I stalked forward and released my hold on the earth scythe for it to return to floating lazily around me. “You’re the fool if you think I give a damn about your rank or how many of you there are.”

I darted to the side as he slashed his sword at me and my earth scythe jerked to block the stroke. I grabbed hold of my air scythe and brought it down toward the Judge. He managed to block my blow, but my third scythe swung from behind as I heard Balthier’s gun fire.

He fell over dead and I turned to see Basch and Vossler teaming up to take down the other Judge who was also almost dead. Vaan and Fran had just finished the last of the smallfrys and the Viera was drawing her bow to lose another arrow at the final Judge. I sent an air javelin at the same time she let her arrow fly and they both hit home simultaneously, killing him.

I turned and knelt down to the Judge that Balthier and I had taken down, following my ritual before moving on to the healer I’d killed and doing the same. Finally, I came to the other Judge and as I knelt down Vossler scoffed.

“Something amusing, Vossler,” I said without looking up, voice devoid of emotion as I followed my ritual with the Judge.

“These men are Judges- _murderers_!” He said angrily.

“I’m aware.” I took the key to the cell block from the body.

“Then why do you show them the same remorse you show the foot soldiers- the normal, everyday men following orders? These are the men who give those men their orders!”

I stood slowly, taking a deep, steady breath.

“Do you really want to know why?” I asked, not really waiting for him to answer but also not rushing to get my words out either. “I mean, you basically answered your own question when you called them both ‘men’. You just didn’t know it because seemingly no one in this entire universe has heard of the concept. Aside from maybe Larsa, but he’s the precious exception to the apparent rule.”

“Wh- Larsa, as in Larsa _Solidor_?” Vossler interrupted and I finally looked over at him to glare.

“Would you like your answer, or would you like to continue judging me for shit that’s none of your business. Here, I’ll decide for you: the answer to your question is this magical, foreign concept that _all are equal in death_ .” I looked back down to the Judge at my feet. “Being a Judge doesn’t make this guy any _less dead_ than that other guy over there. And they’re both dead because of me. So thank you for your concern, but I’ll show remorse for the deaths of whomever I damn well please.”

Turning away, I led the now silent group to the door of the cell block and used the key I’d pilfered to unlock the door. It opened and, with a flourish, I gestured for the others to go first.

“I’m not the one who gives a damn about her, so why should I go first,” I said blandly. Vossler rushed past me.

Basch was a little slower, but still right on the other man’s tail. He glanced over at me as he passed.

“Pardon my curiosity, but why do you seem to dislike the princess so much?”

I scoffed. “You mean the way she treated you earlier wasn’t reason enough? From what I’ve seen and the little knowledge I have of her thanks to my unique situation, as far as I can tell she’s just a spoiled little girl, throwing a temper tantrum and acting like _she_ was the only person who lost anyone or anything,” I said as I stepped through the door.

“She has lost more than you know,” Vossler turned on me, rage in his eyes.

I hummed disinterestedly. “Yes, she lost her father, her husband, and her _title_. I acknowledge her losses, Soldier, but until she begins to acknowledge the losses of _others_ and show compassion towards the subjects she claims to care about…” I trailed off for a moment as Vaan picked up some sort of access card. I shrugged, picking up where I’d left off. “Until then, she can just deal with my _dislike_ , as Cap so mildly put it.”

Vossler stood there glaring and I met his glare with an indifferent stare of my own. The others had found a couple of merchant moogles in one of the cells and were browsing their goods while Vossler and I had our little staredown.

Balthier came over a moment later and held his hand out in front of me, diverting my attention with the object in his hand. He retracted his arm and I swiveled to face him instead of the still angry soldier.

“Sparrow!” I grinned at him as he handed me his purchase.

“The merchants in that cell over there had some in stock. I thought it might help,” he told me.

“How exactly will an orange help anything,” Vossler sneered at me. I smiled vacantly at him.

“Well for starters, it will keep me distracted so I don’t lose my temper when your precious princess _inevitably_ insults my friends. _Again_.” He took a breath to retort, but I turned to Balthier. “In fact, I think it’s probably for the best if I just stay outside until we’re ready to escape.”

He nodded and I turned on my heel, walking out to the room we’d just come from and leaning against the wall to wait.


	17. Outlier's Magic

While I waited for the others to get Ashe out of her cell I started peeling the orange Balthier had bought me, relaxing into the familiar process and tossing the peel on the floor. I'd already littered the _Leviathan_ with bodies; scraps of orange peel were nothing in comparison.

I heard the door to the cell block close just as I’d finished peeling but, before I could actually eat my prize, the lights darkened in the room and a red light started pulsing. With a sigh, I slipped my orange into my jacket and shrugged off the wall as the Vaan and Balthier walked up on either side of me.

“Looks like they’ve figured us out,” I said, keeping an eye on the far door of the room. Ashe -shockingly- stayed silent about my presence with our group. I hoped it would stay that way.

“Majesty, we will cut you a path,” Basch said.

“Under extreme duress, in some cases,” I muttered. Vaan nudged me gently and I flashed a tiny grin at him.

“Why would I place my trust in the sword of a traitor?” Ashe demanded and I immediately released a long, loud groan that echoed in the spacious room.

“Because he’s not a goddamned traitor, Ashe,” I said once I’d released my frustration. “Or did you not catch that when I literally told you ‘there’s more than one side to every story’? You’re only in possession of one side of the story.” I pulled on the Mist to restore my scythes and started to lead the way forward. The group followed me toward the door.

“You have the side the Empire wanted you to hear. The side that anyone not in possession of all the facts would easily believe. The side… that Vayne fabricated. Most likely to not only ensure that Archadia or House Solidor wasn’t blamed for the death of your father, but so he could blackmail the Marquis by keeping the good Captain alive.”

The princess gasped softly, nearly unheard, before Vossler spoke up.

“We need to get back to the hangar I freed you all in. Commandeer a ship and make our escape.”

I hummed in response as the door opened. “Well then, follow me. I’ll get us there; hopefully even in one piece.”

“Not funny, Songbird,” Balthier said. I grinned over at him.

“You sure? ‘Cause I thought it was _hilarious_.”

He and Basch both sighed at me and I laughed as I spotted the first Imperials. A dog and two humans. I reached out and caught the dog in an earth dome immediately before turning my attention to the humans. I sent a javelin flying at one of the guards before dashing forward.

“Why isn’t your sword drawn?!” Vaan cried loudly as he targeted the guard that I hadn’t. I pushed myself faster, giving myself a tailwind before jumping into the air. The air magic added height to my jump and I laughed in glee, feeling like I was floating for a moment.

With the added height to my jump I was going over the guard’s head and with a split second decision I grabbed my air scythe and twisted my body as I started to fall back to the floor. I used the force of my fall to bring the scythe down on the guard and his chest plate fell away in a clatter. I grabbed the water scythe with my off hand, my glee from seconds before fading away to a grim determination.

I positioned the blades on opposite sides of the guard’s head and grit my teeth as I yanked them to the sides, jumping back as soon as they were free to avoid any arterial spray. The other guard fell to the floor at nearly the same time.

“Vossler! Dog!” I shouted, dropping the barrier when he turned toward it and taking a gil out. Instead of following the whole ritual I simply muttered an apology and dropped the gil on top of the body.

_‘Toss a coin to your corpses.’_

_‘That was fucking terrible.’_

I turned to continue leading the way to the hangar, snarling a curse when I saw more guards running at us.

_‘Yeah, well eat a dick. We’re in a rush, it’s the best we can do.’_

The soldiers were coming nearly faster than we could kill them and I turned to the others.

“Forget the guards,” I shouted, letting my scythes fade back into the Mist. “We’ll be overwhelmed in no time if we try to fight them all! Vaan, take the lead! Backtrack us to the cargo bay; I’ll bring up the rear!”

Vaan shot off down one of the hallways, instinctively trusting my judgement, with the others hot on his trail and Ashe close behind them. I sprinted after them, easily catching up to the princess.

“Come on, Ashe. You wanna get out of here or do you want to get us all killed? You have to run!”

“Why do you care what happens to me,” she spat, speeding up a little. “You can’t stand me.”

“You’re absolutely right,” I agreed absently, looking over my shoulder to see even more guards than before trailing behind us. “However, Basch is unwaveringly loyal to you. I’m not going to put my friend in danger because of a petty grudge over something you can’t even fix yet. So _run_!”

I nearly snarled the last word at her, though this time the animosity wasn’t directed towards her, then I planted my foot on my next step and pivoted my waist to do an abrupt 180° so I was facing our pursuers. I focused my attention and the Mist. I took a deep breath and, as I let it out, I shoved both of my hands forward.

The Mist surged forward in a gust of air that bought us a few more seconds to get away. I whirled around and sprinted after my group as fast as I could. I used my air magic to push myself faster along the corridor, skidding around a right-hand corner and immediately making a hard left with the help of the air current. I flew through the door to the cargo bay just as it was closing and whirled around to drop to my knees and slam my palms against the floor.

I grit my teeth as I created an earthen barricade on either side of the door and stood shakily to turn to Vaan.

“Let me see that key card looking thing you found in the cell block, Kid,” I was breathless and my voice was harsh from the adrenaline still coursing through my veins. “I’d say we’ve got _maybe_ 45 seconds before more guards end up in this room and we have to run again.”

When Vaan pulled the keycard out I snatched it and scrambled for one of the consoles on the side of the room. I had noticed them earlier and thought they looked an awful lot like security consoles. I sincerely hoped I’d been right.

Swiping the card brought up a list of options; one of which was to shut off the alarm. I breathed a heavy sigh, selecting that option. The lights stopped pulsing and the alarm sounded, but I was greeted with a screen that said the alarms would be re-engaged if the console in another room didn’t also disable the alarm.

“ _Shit_ ,” I hissed, slamming my palms down on the console in frustration. Even just a little breathing room would be enough for me to come up with a not completely terrible plan. One that consisted of more than just “run as fast as we can”.

“What? The alarms are off,” Vaan said.

“Yeah, but they’re not going to stay that way. There’s a console in another room that has to confirm the command within so many seconds for the alarm to be completely disabled. We need to keep moving. Let’s go.”

I turned and ran to the stairs, taking them two at a time with the others hot on my trail. We were halfway up the stairs when the alarm kicked back up. At the top of the stairs I threw on an extra burst of speed, adding a strong air current along the walkway to serve as a tailwind for us. I heard a couple startled yelps, but nobody fell so I kept going.

We had just rounded the corner that led into the hallways closest to the hangar we’d started in when two familiar figures ran into the room. I wasted no time, not even slowing down.

“ _Draga_ , Penni!” The two halted and Penelo cried out my name, followed by Vaan’s.

“Penelo!” Vaan’s voice was close behind me, so I let him go to her and scooped Larsa into a hug instead.

“ _Draga_ , I’m sorry for all the problems this is going to cause you,” I whispered, “But Ghis was going to execute me and my friends. I couldn’t let that happen.”

“That’s quite alright,” Larsa told me. “I would rather none of you died anyway. Judge Ghis will be dealt with, I promise you, but he knows you’ve escaped. You must hurry.”

I pulled back to grin down at him. “You are absolutely precious, _Draga_.”

He smiled back at me as I let him go completely before he turned to Vossler. “You are Captain Azelas. You will follow me. We must reach the airships before they do.”

“You would let us leave, knowing who we are?” Vossler questioned, not quite believing it. I smirked.

“Larsa isn’t a mindless puppet, letting others tell him what to do and what to believe. There’s a reason I call him my Dear One.”

The boy turned to nod at me before directing his attention to Ashe.

“Lady Ashe. By all rights, you ought not to even exist. That you and Captain Ronsenburg were made to appear dead is like a hidden thread laid bare,” Larsa explained. I grinned at the two stunned soldiers and the speechless Princess as he continued. “Your actions hereafter will pull at that thread, and we will see what it unravels. This is our chance. We must see this through and get to the bottom of it.”

He paused for a moment and I laid a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it gently.

“I believe ‘tis for the good of Dalmasca, and the good of the empire,” he finished softly. Ashe hesitated, then she nodded once.

“Very well, then.”

Larsa turned to Penelo and stepped toward her, holding something in his hand. “Penelo, for you. May it bring you good fortune.”

“Thanks…” Penelo said softly. Larsa turned back to me and I pulled him into another quick hug.

“Be safe, _Draga mea_ ,” I said softly. I pulled away, pressing a kiss to his forehead before turning away and walking in the direction of the hangar. “Soldier,” I called over my shoulder, pausing to look in Vossler’s direction. “You promise to keep him safe, and I’ll continue to protect the princess with everything I have.” He nodded once and I sent him a two finger salute before kicking into a dead sprint again.

“ _Let’s move,_ ” I barked out as I launched forward. Without having to worry about laser grids, I took us down the most direct path to the hanger. I skidded around corners and, as soon as we reached the home stretch -the last hallway before the hangar- I gave everyone a gust of wind to push them faster.

We burst into the hangar and I skidded to a stop.

“ _MOTHER-_ ”

“Ah, ah, ah,” the man in the bronze armor cut me off. “I am becoming increasingly tired of your language, young lady.”

I smirked at him and crossed my arms. “For your _information_ , I was going to say _mother flerken_.”

Ghis sighed, apparently deciding to ignore me. “Such a great shame. I must confess, Lady Ashe, I thought you the one who would help us restore peace to Dalmasca. No matter, we hold the proof of your royal lineage. A maid of passing resemblance will serve our purposes now.”

I snorted, ignoring the foot soldiers cutting off our retreat. “Obviously you never realized how tightly the princess clings to her grudges. Killing her father and framing her own Captain of the Guard didn’t do you guys _any_ favors in getting her to help you.” I paused, then grinned wickedly at the Judge. “Then again, I’m sure Vayne _expected_ her resistance. I would guess that _you’re_ the dumbass who thought she would cooperate after that cluster fuck.”

Ghis took a few slow steps toward me.

“If you do not cease your incessant, foul-mouthed blathering, I will cease it for you.”

My wicked grin widened, he was playing right into my hands. “Vaan, protect Penelo,” I said in an even voice without taking my eyes off the Judge. He’d started charging up a spell -a nasty one, by the looks of it.

“Your magic has a cast time?” I asked in faux surprise. “That’s unfortunate.”

“All magic has a cast time, you stupid girl,” Ghis sneered condescendingly at me. I was slowly moving to the side and he was turning gradually to keep me in his sights. I smirked.

“Not mine.”

I threw my hand forward and three javelins, one of each element, flew at the shocked Judge leaving dents in his armor and disrupting his cast.

I moved my hands to my sides, palms up as I materialized my scythes again. “Allow me to introduce you to what I affectionately call _Outlier Magic_ ,” I said, vaguely recognizing that Basch, Fran, and Vaan were engaging the ‘adds’ as Ghis and I chatted.

“What on Ivalice is _Outlier Magic_?” The Judge sounded bewildered as I drew Stygian and my dagger. I laughed darkly.

“That depends on the outlier. She is either a divine intervention, or a cosmic mistake.” I slashed my blade to the side, then darted forward. Ghis used some type of warfan/bastard sword combination that made me wary, but talking wouldn’t solve anything with this man. The air blade from Stygian crashed into his chest, leaving another dent in his armor. “You will not touch my siblings, my friends, or Ashe, and you most certainly will not be causing any more problems for my Dear One- intentional or not.”

He was charging up that damn spell again and I threw a flurry of javelins at him, hoping to distract him from it. He brought the warfan up to deflect them and I darted to the side, sending more javelins and airblades flying at him. Every projectile that landed left yet another dent in his armor. Ashe lunged at him as well, landing a blow to his shoulder.

“This magic should be impossible,” Ghis exclaimed as he deflected more javelins with his warfan and blocked my elemental scythes and Ashe with his sword.

“Well, it should also be impossible for me to be in Ivalice,” I replied. “Yet, here I am. Kicking your ass.”

He yelled in frustration and lashed at me, opening his defense up for a well-timed shot from Balthier to leave a large dent in the bronze metal across his chest. Two of my scythes had crossed in front of me to block the Judge’s blow and I braced them against his strength with Stygian and my dagger as well.

All four weapons shoved against his blade at once as another bullet landed and I saw a crack form in his armor. Ashe struck out and hit him again, the crack growing bigger from the strike. I smirked.

“Looks like your armor is getting a little worn there,” I called out, the concern in my voice entirely fake. “You should probably get that looked at!”

I sent three more javelins before sheathing Stygian and launching myself forward, propelled by my magic. The javelins impacted hard, followed by another hit from Ashe, and the hollow ringing _thud_ of Balthier’s bullet. I grabbed hold of my earth scythe in a two handed grip and swung it hard with a scream.

Ghis managed to block it, but only just, and stumbled backwards into a pole. His helmet clattered off and I finally got a look at the man under the metal. He was older, I’d guess late forties and I stopped moving as he put a hand to his head and leaned forward. He seemed dazed, and it didn’t look like he knew what to think of his helmet being on the floor instead of his head.

I still held my earth scythe in my dominant hand, hanging loosely at my side, as I watched him warily. I heard the door to the hangar open behind me and tensed for a fraction of a second before I heard Vossler’s voice.

“We’ve secured an Atomos! Come!”

“Looks like this is where we part ways, old man,” I said, letting my scythes fade away and turning on my heel to follow Vossler.

“An Atomos?” Balthier asked. I suppressed the urge to giggle at the dejected tone he used. “All skiff, no ship. Hardly fit for a leading man.”

I couldn’t hide my amusement after that comment and broke into soft laughter as I passed him, grabbing onto his hand to pull him along with me as I ran.

“I’m sure you’ll survive,” I teased.

“So I can fly it then?” Vaan asked hopefully.

“HA! No,” I said quickly, speaking at the same time as Fran.

“Are you mad?”

“We’re all mad here,” I told her with a wide grin, giving us all a slight speed boost from my air magic.

Since I didn’t know where Vossler was leading us I couldn’t anticipate turns and adjust the direction of the air like I had on the way to the hangar, so it wasn’t quite as fast, but it still helped.

“Speak for yourself,” Basch called back to me from his place just behind Ashe. “What could you possibly have been thinking, taunting a Judge like that?”

“I was thinking that I had to keep my promise to Vossler,” I replied breathlessly. “I wasn’t going to go back on my word and risk something happening to Larsa. Besides, I could tell he was cooking a _nasty_ spell back there. If I hadn’t claimed his attention so entirely we probably would have all died.”

“That doesn’t mean you should throw your life away for me!” Ashe protested, surprising me as we came into another hangar. “You don’t even like me!”

I gave us another burst of speed to make it to the Atomos before I thought about replying. Once we were all aboard the ship -or rather, skiff, according to Balthier- and the sky pirate in question took control of the helm, Fran taking the job of co-pilot, I collapsed against the wall and looked at Ashe. I was panting heavily, but managed to gulp down enough air to speak.

“If it means protecting Larsa, my siblings, and my friends, my life is gladly forfeit.” My voice was quiet and she didn’t respond, but I knew she heard me from the way she tensed up. I clutched the wall as Balthier and Fran launched the Atomos from the dock and into the sky away from the _Leviathan_ at a steady pace.

“Can’t we go faster?” Penelo asked.

“Not yet, Penni. There’s a shit-load of Imperial aircraft out here. Think of this like the other day when Vaan and I pick-pocketed those guards in the market,” I explained before Fran could respond, walking forward to lean tiredly against Balthier’s seat while I observed the air traffic. Balthier was matching the speed of the other ships perfectly.

“If I had nicked the coin pouch and then just tore off like a bat out of hell, the guards would have known right away that I’d done something. It also would have been child’s play to find me- one woman running away in a crowd of people leisurely browsing. The key is to blend into the crowd around you. Become just another face in a sea of faces- or, in this case, just another airship in a swarm of airships.”

“Beautiful and cunning; a dangerous combination,” Balthier mused with a playful smirk. I bumped his side lightly with my hip.

“Better watch out, Sparrow,” I quipped with an easy grin, watching the Imperial air traffic ignore our presence entirely. “This story might turn out to have a leading woman instead; then where will you be?”

“Perish the thought, Songbird,” he replied as we made it past the last of the Imperial ships and he put full power to the thrusters- or… whatever it was that airships had. I hadn’t exactly read up on them in my time on Ivalice.

The rest of the trip back to Bhujerba was quiet, all of us resting and trying to recover from the morning’s events. The only noise, aside from the engine, was me softly humming to Penelo as she rested against my shoulder while I ate the orange I had peeled on the _Leviathan_.

We docked the skiff at the Bhujerba aerodome and silently made our way to the lobby. Balthier and Fran were walking a little ahead of the rest of us, but when we got to the deserted lobby Penelo sped up. I watched in vague interest as she trotted past me to catch up with the sky pirate.

“Balthier, your handkerchief,” she said softly and he turned around to see her holding it out in front of her like a gift. “I thought you might want it back.”

He took it with a smile and a slight bow. “I shall wear it close to my heart.”

People were expecting to go their separate ways, I could tell. I could tell from the way they seemed to be subtly separating into their previous groups. Fran and Balthier were a little ahead of us, though Penelo was still talking to them. Ashe, Basch, and Vossler were off to the side and slightly behind me. Vaan was hovering in between the two groups and I could tell he wasn't sure what the feeling running between us all was.

For my part, I was standing firmly in the middle of all three with my hands in my jacket pockets, staring blankly ahead. I heard Ashe talking quietly to Basch and Vossler from where they were standing. I closed my eyes and let my head fall backwards, tilting my face toward the ceiling with a soft, tired sigh. I stayed like that for a moment, not listening to anything in particular.

We were still pretty much the only ones in the lobby, so the room was quiet aside from the soft conversations of my companions. The bustle of the market district across the bridge outside was far enough away that it was just a pleasant background noise. I let all the sounds wash over me, not focusing on anything particular.

After a moment or two of just… _existing_ , I took a deep, slow breath through my nose and let it out through slightly parted lips as I opened my eyes.

“On our own we struggle in vain to restore Dalmasca. I must search out some other way.” I overheard Vossler say. I kept staring at the ceiling, my eyes following the patterns made by the browns and creams of the tiles. “Until I should find it, I would have Basch remain at your side. Doubt him you may, but I measure his loyalty to Dalmasca no less than my own.”

“I know you would not speak so lightly,” Ashe responded. Vossler seemed to have her trust. “Very well.”

“Keep her well,” Vossler said, he must have started talking to Basch instead of Ashe. “Go to Ondore, and there await my return.” I heard the clinking of metal after a short pause, the sound drawing farther and farther away, and I lowered my chin to find Balthier watching me curiously.

I raised an eyebrow and tipped my head toward the bridge, _‘You coming along?’_

He smirked and lifted his shoulders in a shrug. _‘Might as well.’_

“What was that about,” Vaan whispered to me as we followed Basch and Ashe down the hall toward the bridge.

“Some people can communicate entirely through body language without saying a single word,” I explained. “I’ve always been pretty good at reading people because I’ve always been observant of body language. It’s part of how I knew we should let ourselves get captured last night. How I realized that the Marquis wasn’t handing us over to the Imperials to keep his title and retain his power, he was doing it to help us.”

“Huh,” Vaan said softly, walking ahead to join Penelo who was talking to Fran. I hesitated at the bridge, scowling as everyone else continued across without a problem.

_‘What is with this stupid fear? I mean bridges have made me nervous since I was little and saw that story on the news about an interstate bridge collapsing in one of the northern states, but never to the point that I had to force myself to cross them.’_

Before anyone noticed me lagging behind the group, a familiar hand placed itself on my back and nudged me forward.

“You’re not alone, you know,” Balthier said casually. “You don’t have to face it all by yourself. You have your brother and sister to lean on.”

“Wouldn’t be a very good big sister if I dumped all my baggage on them. Or a very good friend if I dumped it on anybody else,” I said softly.

“You can’t just hide from it or bury it, Songbird. Not forever.”

“Mm. Is that so?” I turned to face him, my voice dropping to a whisper as I looked up into his pale green eyes. “Does that mean that you’ve faced whatever it was that prompted you to abandon your home and become a sky pirate? It’s not like this life is a ‘first choice’ for anyone who doesn’t have _something_ to run away from.”

“Oh? And what about Vaan?” He broke eye contact to begin walking again, steering me after the others. “His ‘first choice’ is obviously to be a sky pirate.”

“Isn’t that obvious? His brother’s death left him as an orphan and for two years Penni was the only person he had that he could call family,” I said softly, watching Vaan and Penelo where they walked ahead of us. “Until a little over three weeks ago when he stumbled upon a walking chaotic disaster having a panic attack in the middle of the desert and took her home to make sure she was okay, only for her to stick around and make a nuisance of herself.”

I sighed. “He loves Dalmasca and Rabanastre, but the city is full of pain for him. It reminds him of the past; of the family he lost.” I fell silent for a moment, observing the people around us as we walked through the city.

“Show me a man who chooses to live his life in the sky; I’ll show you a man afraid to revisit the land,” I murmured softly.

“I’m on land right now,” Balthier said just as softly, as if trying to prove me wrong. I smiled sadly at him as we made it to the gate of the estate.

“Yes, but not the land you’re afraid of.”

“His excellency has given orders that you are to be granted an audience this evening,” the guard told us. “You may return then, or you may be led to a room in which to stay until the Marquis is ready for you.”

Basch looked back to the rest of us and locked eyes with me for a split second before responding to the guard. “We shall return closer to sunset.”

I let out a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding as we turned around and Basch led us away from the gate.

“What was that about,” Ashe asked him.

“Our companions and I were already contained in that estate once. I do not wish to be contained there again for longer than is necessary,” he said.

“So what do we do in the meantime,” Vaan asked.

“The tavern we met the resistance in,” I said suddenly. “It would be a reasonably safe place for a group like ours.” Basch nodded.

“What do you mean, a group like ours,” Ashe asked.

“Well for one; you and Cap are both supposed to be dead,” I pointed out. “Sparrow and Fran are sky pirates. I’m an outlier; someone who isn’t supposed to be here but is here all the same. We just escaped from an Archadian warship. We won’t be safe just anywhere.”

“Exactly. In any case, we all need to eat something," Basch reasoned.

"Yeah I love oranges, don't get me wrong, but even I know I can't live off them," I said with a tiny smile.

I saw the kids in the market area as we passed through and I gave them a little wave, smiling when they waved excitedly back at me. When we finally made it to the tavern and Basch secured us two tables right next to each other, I plopped into one of the chairs with an exhausted sigh.

"You fought the Imperials this time," Ashe observed after a moment of silence. "Killed them. What changed between the sewers and the _Leviathan_? Why did you choose to fight?"

I winced and stared at the wood of the table. Balthier, Basch, Fran, Penelo, and Vaan had all gone to the bar counter to get food. I had planned on waiting until it wasn't quite as crowded. Now I was regretting it.

"It wasn't a choice, Princess. I did what I had to do," I whispered, standing up and walking away from the table to examine the hunt board across the room. I'd lost my appetite at the reminder of what I'd done over the past couple days.

Thankfully, the script in Ivalice was the same as any other Final Fantasy. Which meant that, if I had the time to stare at it, I could actually read it. It would just take me a bit longer than if I was trying to read normal English. There were a few hunts up there, but one caught my eye. There was apparently a beast in the mines; a beast named Nidhogg.

I thought to XIV and smirked, if it was in the mines then it couldn't possibly be as big as _that_ Nidhogg.

"I sincerely hope you aren't planning on skipping a meal to go on a hunt," a low voice said from behind me. "Come back to the table, Vaan and Penelo ordered food for you as well."

"She asked me what changed," I told him without turning around. "What made me choose to start fighting."

"And what did you tell her?" Balthier's voice was soothing against my frayed nerves.

"That I did what I had to do."

"You don't really believe that though, do you," he determined.

"It should never be considered necessary to take human life, Balthier," I responded in a jagged whisper. "And the 18 people whose lives I ended with my own hands, they wouldn't give a damn about my reasoning. Their families don't give a damn that I killed those people to protect my own family."

Balthier whispered my name softly and I felt a hand lay itself on my shoulder.

"18 lives. 18 stories cut off by my own hands. There's no justification I could possibly give for that."

"Come eat," Balthier said softly, after a moment of silence. "Afterwards we can look into taking a hunt to pass the time before our audience."

I hummed softly and let him lead me back to the group.


	18. The Power of... Video Games

I retreated into myself throughout our meal and, for the most part, my silence went largely unnoticed. I had a feeling that Fran, Basch and Balthier were all keeping an eye on me, but Vaan and Penelo were used to me not saying much while I ate.

The two orphans were also _entirely_ unsurprised when, fifteen minutes after I had sat down to eat, I leaned away from the table with an empty plate.

"How do you eat _so fast_ ," Vaan groaned. I raised an eyebrow. He asked me the same question nearly every time we had the money to get a decent meal. He always got the same answer.

"Practice."

"Why would you practice eating fast?" Basch asked. I flashed him a smile, though it didn't do much of anything to hide the dullness in my eyes.

"Because when I was a kid I hated having to put my book or video game down for something as ordinary and mundane as _eating_ ," I said softly, thinking back to my childhood. "I got very good at getting it out of the way so that Gran would let me go back to what I was doing."

"You miss the point of the meal when you do that though," Balthier pointed out to me. "There's no way you can enjoy the flavors of the food if you eat it without taking the time to savor it."

This time my raised eyebrow was directed at him, and I pulled my shoulders back to straighten from my lazy slouch.

"The potatoes were creamy and buttery with just the _right_ amount of salt, the beef was dry and the texture bothered me- but that's par for the course as far as eating most meat goes for me, the sauce drizzled _over_ the beef, however, was mouthwatering and rich and was the entire reason I bothered to make myself eat something that I wouldn't normally eat-" I met Balthier's stare head on as I proceeded to analyze my entire meal. When I was finished I took a breath and smirked lightly. 

"Just because the food on my plate seems to disappear doesn't mean I don't enjoy the taste or savor it," I said, leaning back against the back of the chair now that I had made my point. "I've just adapted to enjoy my meals more quickly so that I can go back to doing what I was doing before I had to eat."

"You mean 'popotoes' and 'behemoth meat'," Ashe corrected me condescendingly.

"If that’s what they’re called in this universe, sure,” I responded with a half-hearted shrug.

“This… Universe?” Her confusion was nearly palpable.

"I'm not one of your subjects,” I replied lazily. “In fact, I belong to no Ivalician country."

She blinked once or twice.

"You have the Dalmascan accent, though," she pointed out. I snorted.

" _No_ , I have an _American_ accent. Because I'm from _America_."

There was a slightly uncomfortable silence as Ashe let this soak in. For about three seconds, until she scoffed.

"I have never heard of a country with such a name."

"Of course you haven’t. It’s in a separate universe; a universe that’s only connected to this one by whatever unfortunate cosmic coincidence or misled divine intervention brought me here. Which in itself should be impossible because-" I cut myself off with a sharp intake of breath. “Nope. Nope, I’m not doing this.”

“Not doing what?” Ashe sounded bewildered.

“Attempting to teach advanced theoretical physics when I’ve never sat through a class for it in my life, to people from a universe where I’m 90% sure half the concepts of theoretical physics don’t even apply,” I answered, huffing a humorless laugh. “I mean you’ve got magic, for fuck’s sake, what use would anyone in this universe have for physics- theoretical or otherwise?”

“You…do not have magic where you are from? Then how are you able to wield it? Is that what you meant by Outlier Magic?”

“Your guess is as good as mine, Princess; and yes, that’s what I meant by Outlier Magic. When someone from a world with no magic ends up in a world _with_ magic and for some reason has the ability to wield it. Though there’s no official term for it, I just came up with that on the spot.” I looked over toward the hunt board, intending to get up and claim the Nidhogg hunt before anyone else could grab it.

“So you are a freeloader, then?” Ashe’s voice stopped me cold and I whipped my head back around to stare at her. She was _really_ going there? “An undocumented inhabitant of Dalmasca, benefitting from the hard work of her people?” Apparently so. I slammed my hands on the table and leaned toward her slightly, startling Basch, Vaan, and Penelo. Balthier, it seemed, had expected it; while I was pretty sure that _nothing_ ever startled Fran.

“The only people who benefit off the hard work of Rabanastre’s citizens, _Princess_ , are the royals and the nobles.” My voice was a hushed snarl. “Don’t forget, I’ve seen what your palace looks like on the inside. If your ancestors had gone with wooden doors instead of _engraved fucking gold_ , just the money saved from that alone would have been enough to feed the city’s poor, orphaned, and homeless for _years_. Not to mention all the precious gems and metals, gil, and jewelry just sitting in your palace vault collecting dust.”

“How are you certain Her Majesty did not intend to help her subjects after taking the throne,” Basch questioned. I gestured toward the young queen, my face an impassive mask.

“From the look on her face, Captain. The thought of doing something for the kingdom’s lower classes never crossed her mind. Before she even realized that Vaan and I were thieves, we weren’t worth so much as a ‘Thank you for saving me from those Imperials that almost killed me.’ After? Well-” I laughed once, “We might as well have been dirt under her shoes. The only thing your beloved queen gives a damn about is taking her pound of flesh from the Empire for what they took from her. Her title, her status, her husband, and her father.”

“Is it so wrong to want revenge on the people who took everything from you?” Ashe shot back at me. I bared my teeth with a thin smile.

“Everything, Princess? Because from where I’m standing, you still have _so_ much more to lose,” I whispered. “You still have clothes on your back, you still have soldiers who care about you, you still have your _life_. Dalmasca still stands, even if it’s under the Archadian banner now; it’s still _there_. It still exists. Rabanastre wasn’t given the same treatment as Nalbina. The citizens are still alive.”

“If this is not your universe, how do you know so much about our history,” she asked suspiciously.

“Because I _read_ and I _listen_. History fascinates me no matter where it comes from. If I’m stuck here, you can be damn sure that I’m going to learn everything I can about how the countries and cultures were shaped.” I leaned back and stood from my seat. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go take a hunt so Her Royal _Majesty_ doesn’t accuse me of _freeloading_ again.”

The others were silent as I turned and walked away from the table, but right before I was entirely out of earshot I heard Vaan sigh.

“Well since she’s told you that much-”

I rolled my eyes as his voice faded into background noise and I closed the distance between myself and the hunt board. It wasn’t like her knowing my whole story would make her any less condescending.

I curled my fingers under the edge of the poster for Nidhogg and pulled it off the board carefully. The person who requested the hunt was listed to be in front of the mine. With that knowledge I turned and stalked towards the door, only passing close enough to the others to call out to them.

“I’ll be at the mine if anyone needs me or wants to join.”

Balthier reacted immediately, pushing to his feet.

“You’re not going anywhere near that mine alone, Songbird,” he warned. I paused, looking over my shoulder to raise an eyebrow at him and smirk.

“Watch me, Sparrow,” I responded in an even tone. Even if he didn’t actually hear my words over the chatter of the other tavern patrons, he’d apparently read my lips because his eyes widened slightly. As I faced forward again to continue walking out the door I heard him call my name. It went ignored.

I got to the mine and went up to the first person I saw, pointing to the hunt notice in my hand.

“Excuse me, do you know where I can find this person?”

I was pointed in the direction of a pig-man standing next to the stairs to the mine and I thanked the man I’d asked before taking a deep breath and making my way over there. I was getting slight flashbacks to Nalbina, but I shook them off and approached the pig-man with a kind smile.

“Excuse me, I’m looking for… Aekom?”

“That would be me!” The pig-man said, turning around to face me. My smile brightened. If working in customer service had done _anything_ for me, aside from make my anxiety worse, it had given me the ability to smile in the face of something I wasn’t entirely sure how to approach.

“I’m here about the hunt you posted?” I showed him the notice in my hand and he almost visibly brightened.

“About time someone came to me for that hunt!” He cried and I huffed a small laugh. “Listen up, Hunter! The paling within the mine has fallen, and something quite foul has emerged! Not even we _parivir_ can defeat it!” He paused suddenly and looked me up and down. “Come to think of it… Are you sure you will be able to undertake this hunt? You are quite small…”

“I assure you, I’m more than capable. Don’t let my looks fool you,” I told him with a grin.

He didn’t look entirely convinced, but he backed down. “If you say so. This Nidhogg is up ahead. At a place where the shaft splits in two. Our prayers go with you.”

I nodded once and slipped my hands in my jacket pockets as I walked past.

“Thank you,” I said with a smile. “I’ll be back soon.”

I had just started to descend the first set of stairs when a voice yelled my name, sounding upset. With a sigh I stopped on the first landing and leaned against the railing to look out into the mine while I waited for Vaan to catch up.

“You almost died last time you were on your own in the mines,” he hissed at me without preamble when he caught up.

Basch, Fran, and Balthier all crossed their arms, their looks ranging from disapproving to outright angry. Ashe looked between us all in confusion while Penelo stood right next to me, shifting her weight back and forth.

“What do you mean she almost died?” Ashe asked. I lifted the edge of my shirt.

“He means I decided to take on four headhunters by myself. There was a lot of blood loss by the time I made it back out of the mines,” I said without breaking from my staredown with the others.

“Please don’t go alone,” Penelo said softly.

“Well, I mean, you’re all here now,” I pointed out as I dropped the hem of my shirt and wrapped an arm around her. “Nothing is stopping anyone from coming with me.”

“Of course we’re coming with you,” Balthier muttered. “If we don’t you might actually get yourself killed.”

I shrugged and let Penelo go to turn around and start back down the stairs.

“Then let’s go. This thing ain’t gonna kill itself,” I told them, bouncing quickly down the stairs to lead the way into the mine.

“Where is this thing, anyway?” Penelo asked after the first few bats.

“Well, Aekom said it was at a place where the shaft splits in two,” I replied, sending a javelin flying at another bat to impale it against the wall. “So if I had to guess, I’d say that it’s probably gonna be just past the first bridge where the cart tracks forked.”

“How exactly were you planning to make it there without Balthier?” Vaan asked, apparently still upset that I had decided to come back here alone. I raised an eyebrow over at him.

“Well Sparrow seems pretty pissed at me right now,” I pointed out, not bothering to see if he was paying attention as I sped up slightly. “So I guess we’ll find out how I was going to make it across without him when we get there, since I highly doubt he’ll want to be that close to me for that long.”

“There appears to be… blood smeared along the walls,” Ashe observed, approaching one of the smears to narrow her eyes at it. She missed the collective grimace between myself, Basch, Balthier, and even Fran.

“Yes,” I said warily. “There are blood smears until probably about halfway to the chamber I left the headhunters in. I did say I lost a lot of it.”

“I am not entirely certain how she made it to the entrance of the mine before collapsing,” Basch muttered. I huffed a tiny, quiet laugh.

“The same way I survived college,” I responded casually. “Spite.”

We made it to the bridge and I closed my eyes for a moment. There was a breeze blowing across and I could tell someone had started across the bridge already because I heard the telltale sound of a skeleton coming together.

I drew Stygian and opened my eyes, zeroing my attention in on the skeleton as I dashed forward. It was armed with a halberd and I side-stepped as it lunged. I swung Stygian to the side as I passed, breaking a chunk off of one of the skeleton's ribs, then drew my dagger and spun to slam it through the spinal column.

I'm not sure if the skeleton just got extremely lucky, or if it moved on purpose, but it clattered to the side just enough for my attack to miss and the blade of my dagger to meet empty air instead. I growled softly as I let my momentum continue to turn me and I brought Stygian down in a diagonal slash across the skeleton's back.

Vaan swiped at the skeleton from the front, the others having dealt with the bats while I had been attacking the skeleton.

I grunted as Vaan and I both thrust our blades forward, impaling the skeleton from two different directions on opposite sides. It fell apart around our blades and I smirked at Vaan before turning to continue across the bridge.

There was a large, kind of furry, kind of leathery, two-legged… something near the other side of the bridge and I grimaced. It wasn't pretty. It looked like… if you took one of the two legged Magitek units from XIV, slapped some leathery skin over it, glued some fur around its ankles, gave it an alligator mouth and made it sentient.

In other words: _creepy as shit_.

"I… would say I don't want to fight that," I said as I stood my ground to stare at it. "Because I really don't want to look at it anymore."

"But?" Penelo prompted me.

" _But_ , someone should put it out of my misery," I finished, twirling Stygian at my side in anticipation.

"What do you mean by that?" Ashe asked me warily.

"I mean; that thing is fucking creepy and I'm probably going to have nightmares about it whether we kill it or not," I muttered, finally conjuring a few water javelins to send hurling at the thing. We would have had to fight it regardless, because it was in our way, so I figured we might as well get started.

The water javelins barely left a scratch against the leathery skin and I heaved a deep sigh as I coated Stygian in air magic instead. I really didn't want to get close to it; it probably smelled worse than it looked. I darted forward, getting close enough to the monster to slash Stygian and leave a fairly deep gash on its leg before slipping out of range again.

"Oh God, it smells like a wet dog just rolled around in the Bog of Eternal Stench," I groaned. "How the fuck is that even possible in a mine?!"

“The _what_?” Basch asked as he sliced at the thing. I darted forward again, falling into an attack-retreat pattern.

“The Bog of Eternal Stench,” I repeated. “It’s exactly what it sounds like; a bog that stinks. Legend has it that the bog smells so terrible that if you get so much as a drop of it on you, you’ll smell bad forever. Hence; ‘Bog of _Eternal_ Stench’.”

“Surely nothing like that actually _exists_ ,” Ashe said with a scoff. I grinned as I darted forward again.

“You’re right, it’s just a place in an old fantasy book,” I said. “That doesn’t change the fact that this thing smells like it found the bog and decided it’d be a nice time to go for a swim.”

“You’re ridiculous,” Balthier grumbled next to me as the creature stumbled and fell to the ground, dead, and I sheathed Stygian He put a hand on my back and ushered me the rest of the way across the bridge without another word.

Once we re-entered the mine I took a slow, deep breath through my nose. As I'd expected, the Nidhogg was at the fork in the path. What I hadn't expected was for it to resemble an… Arbok crossed with a Bellsprout? Its body was long, and thinner than it should have been for the size of its head, reminding me of a plant stem, but its head area was flared out like a cobra. To top it all off, it was colored a very pretty blue.

Actually, it almost looked like one of the Gridanian enemies in XIV. A far cry from the dragon Nidhogg of that game.

"What is that," Vaan muttered. I took a determined step forward.

"Apparently? Nidhogg," I replied. "In other words; it's our Hunt."

"What on Ivalice have you gotten us into?" Ashe demanded. I shot her a look over my shoulder.

"No one said you had to tag along, Princess."

“Let’s just kill it and be done with it,” Balthier said, walking up to stand next to me. I glanced over, trying to get a read on him. There was something tense in his voice.

“After we kill it and get the money will you forgive me for being reckless when I’m angry?”

“You’re forgiven,” he replied. “Let’s just get this over with so we can leave.”

“Yessir,” I chirped, skipping forward with Stygian still sheathed at my side.

There were two Steelings flapping around, but they were quickly dispatched by water javelins with a flick of my wrist, leaving only the Nidhogg. It slithered around to face us and I took another deep breath as I drew Stygian and my dagger. The Nidhogg lunged forward and our group scattered. Balthier took aim with his rifle while Fran knocked an arrow and the rest of us lunged forward to slash at the Nidhogg.

_‘Too bad we don’t have a giant mongoose. Those furry lil’ shits have no chill with snakes.’_

_'Not helping.'_

Eventually, after a tiring amount of dodging and slashing, the Nidhogg slumped to the ground. I walked up to it and carefully nudged it with the toe of my boot. It didn’t react, so I sheathed my blades and knelt down next to it to examine the body more closely.

“ _What_ are you doing, now?” Balthier sighed from behind me as I gently lifted the tail of the creature, feeling the smooth scales under my hands.

“This thing looks cool,” I said. “Not how I was expecting it to look, but I like it. It’s like…” I trailed off, trying to think of the name.

“Like what,” Vaan prompted after a moment. I turned to look at him.

“You remember Y’shtola? One of Materia’s warriors?” When he nodded I turned back to the Nidhogg in front of me. “It looks like something from her world, Eorzea. I just can’t remember what it’s called.”

“Wait, so you know things about the worlds those other people were from?” Vaan asked in confusion as I finally stood and turned to start making my way out of the mine.

“Some of them, yes,” I said carefully. This line of questioning could take a turn into territory I’d rather not visit. Like “How do you know about those worlds,” or “Why do you know about some but not others?”

“Which worlds do you know about?” The rest of the group seemed entirely lost, apart from Balthier who had actually been there when Vaan had returned from NT and, as a result, was only _partially_ lost. I hummed in thought.

“Well, obviously I know about Y’shtola’s,” I said, trying to remember for sure which characters had been in NT and which had been in Opera Omnia. “I know about Noctis and Abby’s world, too. Abby is a lot like me. She’s technically from the same world I am, but she literally fell into Eos and was caught by Noct and his friends, whereas I just woke up surrounded by _sand_.” I snarled the last word, the memory of waking up in a desert laying in the sand making my skin crawl.

“What do you have against sand?” Ashe asked me. Vaan cut in before I could go off on a tangent.

“It’s coarse, and rough, and irritating, and it gets everywhere,” he said, having heard me complain enough about sand to quote me word for word. “Now back to my question.”

I stuck my tongue out, like the mature adult I was, then hummed softly.

“Do you… remember a summoner named Yuna? Or maybe a blond guy named Tidus?”

Vaan nodded. “They were both from the same world, right?”

“Spira,” I said, an excited grin coming to my face while we fought through the monsters that were starting to respawn. “Spira is probably my favorite of them all. I really hope I get to meet them someday; Yuna is absolutely precious and I love her to pieces. Other than those three worlds… I know a very _small_ amount about Lightning, Cloud, and Squall’s respective worlds.”

“Other worlds?” Penelo asked softly. “What are you two talking about?”

So the rest of the trip out of the mine was spent with Vaan and I explaining NT to the others. Vaan did most of the talking; I only interjected when my knowledge from Brick would add something of relevance, other than that I stayed quiet.

We emerged from the mine and I started up the stairs just as Vaan was finishing the story.

“You never did explain how you knew what happened in Materia’s world, though,” Vaan realized suddenly as we came to the top of the stairs and I faltered for a split second before continuing on my way towards Aekom, hoping to avoid having to answer. I didn’t want to have to outright lie to them about it but, at the same time, they would eventually get tired of my vague non-answers and redirections.

“Nidhogg has been dealt with,” I said as I approached Aekom. He turned to face me.

“You have defeated the nidhogg? Most glorious of days!” He cried, taking my hand in his. I smiled, slightly uncomfortable but unsure how to extract myself from the situation quickly and still get paid. Thankfully, he let my hand go as he continued to speak. “Now, I hope they will reopen the mines. Here, a gift from the miners.”

He handed me a pouch with 600 gil, along with a… rose corsage and a balaclava. I smiled and wished him a good day before turning away. I handed the money and items to Vaan as I passed.

“Here, I’m not wearing either of those things,” I whispered. “Certainly not _together_ ,” I muttered as an afterthought, drawing a grin from Vaan. He ended up selling them both to a merchant at the top of the stairs since none of us needed them, netting us some extra gil.

“I think we’ve postponed quite long enough,” Balthier informed us. It was nearly mid afternoon and I let out a long, heavy sigh.

“Probably,” I reluctantly agreed. “We might as well get this over with.”

We made our way through the city and back to the gates to the Marquis’ estate, where the guard led us through to the same room we’d waited in the day before.

“At least they’re consistent,” I muttered as the door shut behind us. I moved across the room to snatch one of the oranges from the bowl I’d foregone the night before.

“I thought standing in a lion’s den was the last place you wanted to be relaxed,” Balthier said as I tossed the orange into the air, recalling my words from the night before. I caught the orange and pointed in his direction.

“True, but the Marquis’ allegiance is no longer in question,” I replied, starting to peel the orange above a waste bin in a corner of the room. “Therefore, this is no longer a lion’s den; it’s a politician’s estate, and _that_ , my dear Sparrow, is somewhere you definitely want me to be relaxed.”

“What do you have against politicians?” I looked up from my orange to smile thinly at Ashe, dropping another piece of orange peel in the bin.

“Would you like me to answer chronologically, or alphabetically?”

She let the subject drop and we all settled into a slightly tense silence. Balthier was reading, seated in the same place he’d been during our first visit, and the quiet turning of the pages lulled me into a state of contentment after I’d finished my orange. Just as I’d decided to visit my Mind Palace again, Penelo spoke up.

“I didn’t know you could use magic,” she said, and I looked over to find her staring at me. I shrugged.

“Neither did I until we fought a fire pony in the waterway,” I said. “That’s how I found the water magic. The air magic I discovered while we were falling down a pit during our escape from Nalbina.” I pinned Vaan with a _Look_ as I brought that up, and he sheepishly looked away, scratching the back of his head.

“I used the earth magic for the first time when we fought the Queen Mimic Vaan mentioned yesterday, in _Draga_ ’s office.”

“What about that heavy feeling? Or when we all got pushed to our knees in the tavern when you found out Penelo was taken?” Vaan asked. “You never actually explained that.” I let out a soft hum.

“That’s because, until my fight with the headhunters, I didn’t know what that was; just that it was tied to my temper."

"So?" Vaan asked eagerly, even Balthier had lowered his book slightly. "What is it?" I took a deep breath.

"As near as I can figure, it's some sort of gravity manipulation," I said, lacing my fingers together behind my head. "I'll have to experiment with it, right now it seems to only react to my temper."

"That seems unreliable," Basch reasoned. "How would you ensure your temper would be there when you need it?" I looked over at him with a little grin.

"That's my secret, Cap. I'm always angry," I said with barely restrained laughter. I couldn't help it, he'd given me the perfect opening.

"Now _that_ , I can believe," Ashe muttered. I huffed a quiet laugh and let my head fall back to stare at the ceiling.

"Anyway; while I have no doubt that my temper wouldn't abandon me when I need it most, I would like to be able to use that particular ability whenever I want to instead of having to rely on my emotions,” I mused softly. “It might come in handy to be able to manipulate gravity at will.”

_‘Really, all of our magical attacks are based off of the instinct we had when we first used them. We could probably refine them all, to a point.’_

I sat up straight at that thought, a little _‘huh’_ sound coming out.

“Now _that’s_ a good idea,” I murmured, immediately thinking of the elemental scythes.

“What’s a good idea?” Penelo asked. I held a finger up to give myself a moment to flesh out the thought a little further.

“It’s _half_ a good idea, at least,” I continued, shutting my eyes. “I’ll be right back.”

“Where are you going?!” Ashe demanded. I cracked an eye open to glare at her.

“My Mind Palace.”

“Your what?” I closed my eyes, ignoring Ashe’s confusion. I’d explained the premise to Vaan the first time I used it around him, so if he wanted to fill her in then he could.

_‘Yo, inner me, I need constructs of any anime and video game weapons we can clearly remember.’_

_‘Your wish is my command,’_ my inner voice snarked before supplying me with a plethora of weaponry. A smile spread across my face as I picked out a few favorites.

_‘Oh, we definitely have to use at least one weapon from a Final Fantasy game.’_

I picked out two from two different Final Fantasies and set them to the side.

 _‘Seven Deadly Sins is also a must,’_ Inner Me added gleefully. Three sacred treasures and one of the Ten Commandments weapons were pulled to the side.

 _‘Ooh! Death’s scythe! Definitely adding that,’_ I thought as I snatched it to put it aside with the rest.

In the end I had pulled out thirteen possible weapons. One would end up as an honorable mention, but for the most part this would be the final set. I opened my eyes and took a deep breath.

“Alright.” I let the breath out slowly. “Let’s see if I can make this work.”

“Make _what_ work,” Ashe asked. I looked up and held my hand out, palm up, willing my earth magic to make one of the more simple weapons I had chosen. King’s Chastiefol.

“This,” I replied, watching the miniature replica spin above my palm with a smile. It slowly morphed to Diane’s Gideon, followed by Escanor’s Rhitta.

_‘Rhitta will be difficult to get right, since she’s supposed to be so heavy.’_

_‘We’ll just have to play around with it. I love Rhitta’s design, so she’s definitely going to be one of the twelve.’_

“What is this supposed to be?” Basch asked, examining the weapons as I went through them. I’d switched to water magic after Rhitta.

“Replacements for the three scythes,” I said. “There’s going to be twelve of them now, and they’re all different designs and types of weapons.”

“Ooh!” Penelo cried. “What was that last one?”

I pursed my lips and reformed the last weapon I’d conjured out of water.

“That is a Dragon Nikana. It’s from a game called _Warframe_.”

“What about the axe you made a minute ago?” Vaan asked. I grinned and brought Rhitta back.

“This beautiful baby is named _Rhitta_ ,” I told him. I reached a hand out and Basch took it to hoist me onto my feet as Rhitta spun slowly and gracefully above my hand. I extended my arm all the way and she grew to her full size as I wrapped my fingers around her handle, though I kept her mass the same as the miniature version.

“The handle is not wide enough for the size,” Basch said. “There should be room for both of your hands.”

“That’s because, though her size would suggest otherwise, Rhitta is a one-handed axe,” I said, eyes glued to the earthen replica in my hand as I recalled Galland of Truth with a grin. “A common mistake. Trust me.”

I released my grip on Rhitta and she dissolved into the Mist just in time for a knock to sound at the door. My eyes cut to the sliding glass door and I took a sharp breath. It was already dark.

“Shit,” I muttered. “I didn’t mean to stay in my Mind Palace for _that_ long.”

_‘We have a lot of weapons stored in here.’_

_‘Apparently so.’_

I walked over to the fruit bowl and snatched two more oranges, slipping one into one of the pockets of my jacket as Balthier opened the door.

“The Marquis will see you now,” the guard on the other side said tonelessly. I walked up and casually threaded my arm through Balthier’s, tossing the other orange up in the air and catching it with a grin.

“Lead the way,” I chirped, ignoring the feeling in my gut. No matter how helpful he had been, he was still a politician; which meant that I still didn’t entirely trust him. Politicians would always look out for their own self-interest; I’d learned that when I was still on Earth. Only time would tell if Ondore was truly different from the politicians I was used to back home.


	19. Can We Not Make Stupid Decisions?  No?  Okay Then.  I Guess I'll Tag Along.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Yeets a chapter at you guys*  
> Here, have some Balthier fluff to get you through all this Covid19 shit <3

We were led to the same room we’d been taken to the day before. This time, for whatever reason, I was the one in front and I nodded to the Marquis as I entered the room.

“Glad to know I wasn’t wrong when I read you,” I said amicably as the others filed into the room behind me. I leaned against the stone windowsill of the giant window on the side of the room, keeping the doors in my line of sight, and crossed my arms.

“I heard the Imperial casualties were numerous,” Ondore replied, leaning his elbows on the table in front of him with his fingers twined to bridge the gap between his hands. I clenched my jaw, grinding my teeth together, and looked away.

“A necessary evil,” I muttered. Balthier and Fran were on the other side of the large table the Marquis was seated at and Ashe, Basch, Penelo and Vaan came to stand in a loose group near me.

“Lady Ashe,” Ondore turned his attention away from me to address the princess and I let out a quiet breath. “I am relieved to see you alive and well. Though, I confess, I do not know the whole story.”

“When Vossler learned my father had been killed the night of the treaty signing, he returned to Rabanastre to aid my escape,” she told him. “There was still time before Vayne’s reach extended too far. We thought that _you_ could protect me.” I stared at the floor in thought. I could understand _why_ she and Vaan hated Vayne… I just wished they would try to see both sides of the situation instead of only their own.

“However,” Ondore said thoughtfully, “when I then made the announcement that you had taken your own life… I must have seemed a model citizen of the Empire.” He paused for a moment and I lifted my eyes to watch the royal and the politician carefully. “The announcement, you see, was Vayne’s suggestion. Of course, at the time I was reluctant, but I could not perceive his reasons.”

“He wanted to isolate her,” I spoke up, softly, from my spot behind the others. Everyone turned their attention to me, but I kept my gaze solely on the Marquis. “To ensure that she wouldn’t come to you for help. He wanted to make her doubt your loyalty, doubt _you_. That, in addition to his capture of Basch, was the perfect storm. It created the exact conditions he needed to keep you… saddled.”

“Indeed,” the Marquis agreed.

“Halim, we are past all this,” Ashe said, borderline desperation in her voice. “Bhujerba must stand with us. We can stop Vayne.”

_‘But at what cost…’_

Ondore sighed and stood from his seat, regarding Ashe with the gentleness of a close relative.

“I once knew a girl whose only wish… was to be carried in her uncle’s arms,” he said. “Your Majesty is a woman grown now.”

“Then you will aid me?” Almost before she could finish the question, Ondore turned to step away from the table so he could pace as he spoke, his hands clasped behind his back.

“Suppose for a moment you were to defeat Vayne… What then? You cannot simply rebuild your kingdom with the only proof of your birthright stolen,” he said. “Without that, the Gran Kiltias on Bur-Omisace cannot and _will not_ recognize Your Majesty as the rightful heir.” He turned to face Ashe and I knew from the look in his eyes that he was about to shut her down. “You may yet be a princess, but without proof of your identity, you are powerless. You will remain with me. We do nothing ‘til the time is right.”

“I cannot just wait!” Ashe pleaded.

“Then what does Your Majesty propose we do?”

Ashe seemed at a loss. “Uncle Halim-” she cut herself off and, against what I thought to be my better judgement, I felt my heart thaw a little toward her. At that particular moment in time, I didn’t see a selfish princess looking for revenge, I saw a girl who wanted her uncle to support her and had been sadly disappointed. I saw someone I could identify with.

“Incidentally,” Balthier said, when it was obvious Ashe had no answer for the Marquis, “what _is_ the going rate for rescuing princesses these days?” Ashe slowly turned to walk away and my eyes slid to Balthier. “Food would be a good start- the good stuff, mind you. And oranges for the Songbird,” he added, gesturing toward me as he sat on the table to haggle payment from the Marquis.

“This can be arranged, though it will take some time,” the Marquis replied with a sigh.

“Time enough for a bath I hope,” Balthier replied. I forced my mind away from the image his words had conjured and looked away to watch Ashe leave, feeling my cheeks heat slightly. “Dirty business, you know. Ah, best bring a change of clothes, too.”

Vaan and Penelo watched Ashe leave as well and I just _knew_ Vaan was going to follow her.

“I think I’ll be getting that bath sooner rather than later,” I muttered, pushing away from the window. “Am I to be escorted around the estate like a prisoner?” I asked the Marquis with a glance. “After all, I was part of the rescue party and the main reason the Imperial casualties were as high as they were.”

“You are a guest,” the Marquis said carefully, “but you must understand I cannot have just anyone roaming freely around the estate. Security precautions.”

I hummed, pursing my lips. “Yes, ‘ _security precautions_ ’, I’m sure. Before I forget,” I added suddenly, turning to face the Marquis fully. “Basch and Vaan’s blades should both be serviced. I’d like some light mineral oil, a soft cloth, and a whetstone brought to me, along with some polish.” Balthier was watching me curiously, while Basch and Vaan were staring at me in surprise. The Marquis raised an eyebrow.

“You expect to be doing more fighting?”

I leveled him with a thin, albeit patient smile. “Marquis Ondore, in the past three days I have single-handedly assassinated eighteen of the Imperials troops. If the Empire _isn’t_ coming for me, I’d be very surprised.”

“How would they know that _you_ killed all eighteen of them?” Ondore asked me, not quite believing what I was saying.

“Because my companions and I are the only ones who were both in Nalbina and on Leviathan, and Vayne isn’t an idiot,” I told him. “I left a calling card on all eighteen. A single gil sitting on their lips. He might not know it’s me specifically, but he’ll figure out pretty damn quick that _one of us_ is responsible.”

“Why would you leave a calling card?” The Marquis asked, bewildered. “That is just asking for them to come after you.”

“To appease my conscience,” I replied, continuing without elaborating further. “I’m not naïve enough to believe we’ll be under your protection forever, Marquis Ondore, and when we _do_ leave, the Empire will be waiting for me. Eighteen men killed by one person in three days is a steep loss, no matter how many troops the Empire has at its disposal. I am a threat to them and Empires don’t just sit idly by when they discover a threat. They make an effort neutralize it.”

Penelo gasped softly.

“So, if you don’t mind, I think I’ll take some _security precautions_ of my own.”

“Very well,” the Marquis sighed heavily. “The items you’ve requested will be brought to your chambers.” I nodded and turned to leave. As the door fell shut behind me I just barely happened to catch Balthier asking to retrieve the _Strahl_ from the Aerodome and dock it in the estate’s hangar.

“Shall I escort you to the room you’ll be occupying?” A servant asked me once the door was shut. I nodded. “Very well, then, follow me.”

She led me to a different section of the estate from the room we’d waited in for both of our audiences. When she opened the door and I walked in, I took a slow breath. Extravagance in royalty annoyed the hell out of me, but _wow_.

“ _Damn_ this looks expensive,” I muttered. The floor was black marble and the bed was an _enormous_ four-poster with what looked like the softest sheets I’d ever have the chance to touch in my life. There was an open-air balcony on one wall, and a door in the corner. I walked over to the opening of the balcony and saw that the door would most likely connect to the room next to mine; there was another balcony catty-corner to mine and five more similar balconies past that.

“All the rooms for your group are connected, my lady,” the servant told me. I turned to see her still standing just inside the doorway. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

“Um… Everything I need for a bath is already in there, right?” I asked, gesturing toward the bathroom.

“Yes, my lady. Would you like me to run your water?”

I quickly shook my head. “No, thank you. I’m… I’m used to drawing my own bath. You probably have better things to do than to fuss over me, don’t let me take any more of your time.”

“Very well,” she said with a smile. “If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to ask a servant.”

When I nodded she left the room and I let out a long breath, taking my jacket off to drape it across the bed. My sword and dagger followed. I drifted toward the bathroom, realizing right away that it was _nearly_ as big as the bedroom itself.

_‘This is…’_

_‘Really fucking nice.’_

_‘I was going to say “a bit much”, but yeah, that works too.’_

I walked over to the marble tub and opened the hot water all the way, plugging the drain when I realized that the water was instantly hot. I slowly opened the cold water until the bath was an acceptable middle ground between “fires of hell” and “luke warm”, then I gathered some soaps and a towel and poured some fragrant smelling oil in the water. I pulled my hair up into a pile on top of my head and secured it with a clip I’d found on the vanity to keep it from getting wet.

_‘Treat yo’self.’_

_‘I’m planning on it, I deserve some pampering after the month I’ve had, dammit.’_

_‘No argument here.’_

When the tub was full I peeled my clothes off and sank into the water with a small sigh, tilting my head back to just… soak it in for a moment.

Almost reluctantly, I got around to cleaning myself. The soaps all smelled similarly to the oil I’d poured in the bath and, while I was slightly sad that it didn’t smell like Balthier, I was glad that it was a relaxing scent.

Once I was done I stood and dried off, wrapping the towel around me and rolling the edge to keep it secured, then I took my clothes over to a basin in the corner.

_‘Do you think…’_

_‘One way to find out.’_

I summoned my water magic into the basin and dunked my clothes in, hoping to whatever gods this world had that this would work the way I wanted it to. The water in the basin turned a light brown from the dried blood as I pushed and squeezed my clothes to get as much of the dirt and grime out as possible. When I was certain they were as clean as I could get them, I pulled them free and dismissed the water back to the Mist. The dirt stayed in the bottom of the basin, but my clothes were instantly dried again and I grinned.

_‘Hell yes.’_

_‘Naruto fanfictions, once again you make my life easier.’_

I turned the water to the basin on, to rinse the grime from my clothes away, then turned it off and filled it with water magic again; just to make sure I’d gotten my clothes as clean as possible. Just as I’d dunked my clothes in the water a knock sounded on my door. I grimaced and left the clothes to soak for a moment, padding into the bedroom area as the knock sounded again. It had come from the door to the next room, not the one to the hallway, and I returned to the bathroom.

“Come in!”

I figured it was just Vaan or Penelo, coming to check on me after what I’d told Ondore. The door opened just as I approached my clothes to finish cleaning them and I listened to my sibling’s footsteps.

“I’m in the bathroom, washing my clothes,” I called out.

“Well, well,” a voice that was definitely _not_ Penelo or Vaan drawled, and my hands stilled in the water as I became _acutely_ aware of the fact that I was in just a towel. Sure, the towel covered all the important bits. Even with it rolled up a little bit to secure it, it came down to my mid-thigh. I slowly turned to see Balthier leaning against the column that marked the threshold of the bathroom. I had expected to see him smirking, but what I saw instead was his eyes piercing into mine, his face entirely serious. He looked… hungry. And _not_ for food.

“I assumed it was Vaan or Penelo, coming to check on me,” I said, miraculously keeping my voice steady.

“I’m afraid not,” he replied, eyes still locked to mine. There was a heat in his gaze that I hadn’t seen yet, even with the mild flirting he’d been doing. The only time he’d come close to looking at me like _this_ was when I had used his shower on the _Strahl_ and had smelled like him. I cleared my throat and turned back to my clothes, hoping to distract myself from the very insistent thoughts that had made themselves at home in my head.

“Do you need something, Sparrow?”

“Just to let you know that I have the distinct impression that the princess and your brother are about to do something incredibly stupid,” he told me. I looked over my shoulder at him as I pulled my clothes from the water and dismissed the magic.

“Is that so…”

He nodded, his piercing gaze still locked on mine as I turned to walk toward the bedroom with my newly cleaned clothes. I stopped next to him and I could almost swear he’d stopped breathing as I smirked up at him. His gaze finally broke from mine to trace the curve of my neck and shoulder as I spoke.

“Then we’d better go join them,” I whispered. “Can’t let them have all the _fun_ while they leave us in this stuffy palace with nothing to do.” I continued into the bedroom while Balthier stood motionless on the bathroom threshold for a moment. Then he turned and made his way back to the door connecting this room to the next. At the door he paused and turned his head slightly to the side to speak to me without having to fully look at me.

“I’ll be back in five minutes,” he said, voice slightly strained. “I have a feeling they’re going for the _Strahl_ , so that should buy us a little time.” I smiled to myself as the door shut and pulled the towel off my body to start getting dressed.

I pulled my jacket on again and had just finished putting my boots on when Balthier knocked again. I called for him to come in as I stood and turned toward the bathroom. The door opened and closed as I reached up to unclip my hair and let it tumble down, running my fingers through it to situate it in some semblance of its normal arrangement.

When I returned from the bathroom, the hairclip put back in its place, I saw Balthier standing there staring at me. I smirked and went to retrieve my weapons from their corner.

“See something you like, Balthier?”

He cleared his throat. “I thought you just washed those clothes, how are they already dry?”

I turned to grin at him. “Outlier hacks, my dear Sparrow. I used my water magic to wash them, so when I dismissed the magic it dried the clothes instantly.”

He hummed softly in acknowledgement and offered me his arm when he saw I was ready.

“Let’s go crash a party,” I said, still grinning as I looped my arm through his.

“That sounds like a marvelous idea.”

* * *

We slipped across the walkway and boarded the _Strahl_ silently, approaching the cockpit where I could hear Vaan and Ashe talking.

“I’ll return his airship later,” Ashe told Vaan.

“Are you crazy?”

“This is something that I have to do!” She responded, and I slipped my arm from Balthier’s to ghost forward ahead of him. “Not only for myself, but for all those who have fallen. I will not be made to hide!”

I stepped into the cockpit and slung an arm around Vaan’s shoulders.

“So thieving is okay when the royals do it?” I asked softly, any heat that normally would have been in my voice was lost to the look of near desperate determination on her face.

“I don’t expect you to understand!” She snapped at me. I held a hand up, palm out.

“Woah there, Princess. I wasn’t being hostile, for once. I was asking an honest question,” I said as she turned to start examining the controls. “I don’t think you really know what you’re getting yourself into. I mean, you don’t even have Basch with you.”

“I can protect myself,” she muttered.

“Perhaps against a few assailants,” I agreed, “but Vayne or the Empire one has probably sent far more than _a few_ troops to search for you.”

“You can’t go around stealing people’s ships,” Vaan reasoned, shrugging my arm off to walk up to her. “What are you trying to do?”

“I’m trying to concentrate!” Ashe snapped again, standing and whirling to face him.

“That’s quite enough, Your Majesty,” Marquis Ondore’s voice came over the speakers of the ship and I closed my eyes as Vaan turned around to look behind me.

_‘Dammit. Looks like she’s caught.’_

“What do you think? A bit over the top?” This time I heard a familiar voice under Ondore’s, saying the exact same words. My eyes flashed open and I spun to see Balthier leaning against the doorway with a radio in his hand and a smirk. He let go of the button on the side and sauntered forward. “In my line of work, you never know when something like this might come in handy.”

He stopped next to me and I grinned mischievously as he pressed the button again. This time Ashe’s voice came out of the speakers.

“I’m trying to concentrate!”

His hand dropped to his side and he walked forward. I watched Ashe deflate.

“I’m leaving you with the Marquis.”

“You can’t!” She cried as he turned away again.

“Trust me, you’re better off staying here,” he told her.

Ashe sighed. The next words out of her mouth had Balthier slowing to a stop at the doorway and my eyes widened in shock.

“Suppose you kidnapped me instead?” His head turned just slightly and I could see the gears turning. She’d certainly gotten his attention. “You’re a sky pirate, aren’t you? Then steal me. Is that so much to ask?”

“Do you have _any_ idea what you’re asking him to do?” I snapped. “Stealing treasure is one thing, kidnapping a princess will put a price on his head so high that even my warning to Ba’Gamnan yesterday would go ignored! No one would give a _damn_ that my death threat stands between them and Balthier.”

“What do _you_ have that I would want?” Balthier asked, and I whipped my head to the side to stare at him in shock.

_‘He’s actually fucking considering this?’_

“The Dynast-King’s treasure,” Ashe said softly. “The Dawn Shard is but one of the riches that lie waiting in King Raithwall’s tomb.”

_‘Fuck. She’s snared him.’_

He turned around slowly, letting out a whistle.

“King Raithwall, you say?”

“Son of a fucking bitch,” I hissed, dropping my face into my hand and letting my weight fall back against the wall. “This is really happening right now, isn’t it.”

“Kidnapping royalty is a serious offense,” a new voice informed us and I tilted my face enough to peer out between my fingers at Basch as he came to a stop between me and Balthier. “It won’t do much to lower the bounty on _your_ head.”

“I’ve already brought that point up,” I muttered.

“How much is the price on _your_ head these days, I wonder,” Balthier shot back at Basch as he walked past to stand in front of Ashe.

“Allow me to escort you in Vossler’s place,” he offered, and she nodded slightly.

“Will you be joining us?” Fran’s lilting voice asked and I pulled my hand away from my face to see Penelo enter the room at her side. Vaan looked over at her.

“What? Are you kidding? I don’t want to stick around this place!”

“Then I’m coming too!” Penelo said, claiming a seat for herself.

“Penelo?” Vaan asked in surprise.

“Don’t leave me here,” Penelo demanded desperately. Vaan sighed.

“Of course not.”

I crossed my arms moodily as six sets of eyes landed on me.

“That just leaves you,” Balthier said. “So what’ll it be?”

I huffed and glared at the ground, my response nearly a growl.

“Like you even have to ask, Sparrow. I go where my siblings go.” My gaze lifted to meet his, and I smirked. “Besides, who would beat back the headhunters for you once Ondore raises your bounty if I stayed behind?”

His, Fran’s, Vaan’s, and Basch’s eyes all dropped to the starburst scar peeking out from the edge of my shirt. Even Penelo turned in her seat to stare at the scar. I dropped a hand on Penelo’s head, stroking her hair gently.

“Then it’s settled,” Fran said. “We should leave before the Marquis realizes she’s missing. Like proper kidnappers.”

“Let’s blow this popsicle stand,” I murmured.

“Someone will have to sit on the floor against a wall,” Balthier said. I realized there were only six seats in the cockpit room and I sighed.

“I’ll do it,” I said, stepping away from Penelo to slip Stygian off and slide down the wall to the floor, tucked into a ball in the corner. I closed my eyes as I rested my head back against the wall. “Maybe I’ll get another nap in on the way. That bath made me pretty sleepy. Probably would have collapsed into the most comfortable bed I’d ever have the pleasure of passing out in and slept until noon if someone hadn’t come to inform me that people were making idiotic decisions.”

“Idiotic decisions?” Ashe echoed. I cracked an eye open to pin her with a look where she sat in the seat across from Penelo.

“Yes, idiotic decisions,” I repeated. “Like attempting to steal a sky pirate’s airship. Without a co-pilot. Or knowing how to _fly_ the airship.”

“How do you know I couldn’t fly it?” She bristled, glaring at me. I smirked and let my eye slide shut again.

“Because I watched you trying to figure out how to _start it_.”

The engine whirred to life and I let out a content sigh as Balthier and Fran launched us from the dock and into the sky, the constant hum lulling me into an easy sleep.

* * *

I was gently shaken awake and I grumbled softly as my eyes slowly opened, meeting Balthier’s pale green.

“Up and at ‘em, Songbird,” he said, straightening up and offering a hand to help me up. “We let you sleep as long as we could, but it’s time to get going now.”

I slipped my hand into his and he pulled me upright, placing a steadying hand on my elbow as I tipped forward, my forehead resting against his chest. I inhaled deeply and the smell of sandalwood and vanilla engulfed my senses, lulling me towards sleep again.

_‘So warm…’_

_‘I bet he’d make a good pillow…’_

I let out a squeaky yawn and put a hand on his stomach to push myself upright again as he let out a chuckle.

“Not a morning person?”

“Not even slightly,” I grumbled, rubbing my eyes with another yawn. His hand slipped from my elbow to my lower back and I dropped my hands to peer up at him curiously. Generally the only time he’d done this was when I was afraid or upset. There had been the other day when we left the ship to go spread word that Basch was alive, but I had just nearly _died_ to give him some breathing room from the headhunters. He was probably just reassuring _himself_ that I was actually still there.

He met my curious stare with his own, something sparking in the depths of his eyes; a phantom remnant of the heat and hunger I’d seen in the bathroom the night before.

_‘Did… Did something shift last night?’_

_‘...Maybe…’_

“Shall we?” He asked softly. I nodded and turned to watch where I was going as he ushered me out of the ship…

...and into the desert.

I took one look at the sand surrounding us and a pitiful whine crawled out of my throat.

“No. No, no, no.”

“We have to,” Balthier told me gently. “It’s the only way to get to Raithwall’s tomb; the airship can’t fly through jagd.”

I whined again, softer this time and let him usher me down to the waiting sands. I turned to see the _Strahl_ rise back up to hover in the sky over the desert as we joined the others, the sun reflecting off the sands and starting to give me a migraine as I squinted at the ship. Suddenly it shimmered and disappeared entirely and I sucked in a gasp as I whipped my head to look at him.

“ _Cloaking?_ ” I asked excitedly. “Did you steal some Romulan tech? Maybe Klingon?” He blinked down at me in confusion and I sighed sadly. “Nevermind…”

“This ‘come in handy’ often?” Ashe asked, turning to look at Balthier.

“It’s tough being popular,” he said, getting a small smile from me. “Wouldn’t want any admirers dropping in while we’re away. Well now, that’s as far as she goes. We’ll be in jagd from here onwards.”

“Across the sandsea, to the Valley of the Dead,” Ashe said sadly. My eyes widened as I processed her words.

 _‘I’m sorry, did she just say_ _sand_ ** _sea_** _?!’_

_‘It must just be a place in the desert where there’s no rocks or anything like there is here, so it’s just sand for as far as the eye can see.’_

_‘Or quicksand…’_

_‘Dude. Quicksand needs_ **_water_** _. Do you see any water around here?’_

I shook my head slightly and tuned back in just in time to hear Vaan explaining this “jagd” thing to Penelo.

“So, when you’re in jagd, skystones don’t work at all. That’s why we gotta hoof it the rest of the way, ya see?”

“Happy you get to teach _me_ something for a change?” Penelo asked innocently and I huffed a small laugh.

“Well, if you wanna be a sky pirate, you gotta know your-” he cut himself off as he realized what she’d said. “Hey! What do you mean, ‘for a change’?”

“At least we thought to bring entertainment,” Balthier joked as Vaan and Penelo continued their back and forth. I nudged him with my elbow, trying to bite back a smile. He saw through it and winked down at me with a smirk. Ashe lifted a hand to pinch the bridge of her nose with a sigh.

“Welcome to my constant state of existence, Princess,” I told her with a tiny quirk of my lips. She glanced over at me and shook her head.

“We should get going,” she muttered.

“Lead the way, then,” I replied easily.


	20. I'm Beginning To Regret Tagging Along.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all, I am /sorry/ in advance for how heavy this chapter got. Also, there's... brief(?), vague-ish descriptions of a panic attack, so if that's not your thing then I apologize for that too.

Oh, Ashe had led the way alright. She had led the way straight to something out of my _nightmares_. I stood on a rock at the edge of this nightmare-scape, my hands clenching and unclenching as I tried to reconcile what my eyes were seeing.

“So…” I said to myself, my voice deathly quiet. “When the princess said sand _sea_ , she wasn’t just being dramatic.” I watched the _waves_ of sand- the _tide_ , gently rocking back and forth. It was a _literal sea_ , but instead of _water_ it was _sand_. I hated it. I hated everything about it. I especially hated that it was… actually almost… _pretty_. And somehow, instead of getting angry like I would have expected, I felt myself shut down a little.

“What kind of world has a literal sea of sand?” I mumbled to myself, my head hanging down. I placed my hands over my face and took a deep breath, willing my tears away. “Why am I _here_?”

For the most part, aside from the magic and the airships and the Empires and the people I knew were supposed to be fictional characters, I had almost been able to pretend that I was still on Earth. This sight dashed that coping mechanism to pieces.

Two sets of arms wrapped around my waist from either side and I lifted my face from my hands to see Vaan on my right and Penelo on my left. They both laid their heads on my shoulders and I heaved a sigh.

“You didn’t have anything like this in your universe, did you…” Penelo said, already knowing the answer. I shook my head anyway.

“No. Up until now I’ve almost been able to pretend that I’m still home, just in some strange, unexplored corner of the world where magic actually exists… but now…”

Their arms tightened and I rested my cheek on Penelo’s head.

“I’ll… be okay,” I whispered softly. “It’s just… going to take me some time to adjust.”

I moved to wrap my arms around their shoulders, squeezing them sadly as I turned away to rejoin the others.

“So, where exactly is Raithwall’s tomb?” Penelo asked Basch as we approached. Vaan had extracted himself from my grip once we got close, but Penelo had stayed. Basch turned to look out at the sandsea.

“Far to the west,” he told her. “We must first cross the Ogir-Yensa, and beyond that the Nam-Yensa, before we reach the tomb. An expanse of desert larger still than all of Dalmasca.” I grimaced. “We must pace ourselves. If you grow tired, we stop and take rest.”

“You don’t have to worry about me,” Penelo said with a smile. “I’m tougher than I look.”

“You might be,” Balthier said from behind us, “but your sister is obviously distressed if her clenched fist and death grip on you are anything to go by.”

Basch looked me dead in the eyes. “If you tire, we rest. Do not try to push yourself just to get through the sandsea faster.” I looked away at the structures built over the sea to presumably help traverse it and nodded.

“Yes, sir.”

“Then let us continue,” Basch said, seeming satisfied with my answer.

Slowly but surely, we trudged our way through the sand until we came to the metal ramp leading onto the structure over the sandsea. I breathed a small sigh of relief at not having to walk through the sand anymore, and the higher up we climbed the easier I could breathe. Heights had always been my happy place and it seemed that now was no exception. Once we got to the upper level I let go of Penelo and walked over to the railing to look out over the sandsea.

The breeze that kissed my skin as I stared out over the cresting waves of sand was cooler than I expected it to be, but it lacked the salt of a true sea breeze and I let out a sigh. A hand touched my back and I turned my head to see Balthier looking out over the sea as well.

“Before you know it, we’ll be there and back again and all this will be over,” he told me. I frowned softly.

“For some reason, I highly doubt it will be that simple, Sparrow.” He broke away from the view to look down at me curiously.

“And why would you think that?”

“Because things _never_ work out the way you expect or intend for them to,” I whispered, turning away from the view to rejoin the others. Vaan had somehow managed to find maps of both the Ogir-Yensa and the Nam-Yensa, and he handed them to me. I looked over the Ogir-Yensa map and whistled softly.

“This one will be a little more difficult, Vaan,” I murmured, glancing up at him. “ _Leviathan_ ’s map was fairly straightforward. Easy to remember from a glance. This one has way too many circles and offshoots that go to nothing for me to memorize it immediately. It’s a pretty straight shot until the first fork in the path, but after that it almost looks like a maze.”

“Well then keep the maps on you,” he said. I nodded and tucked them away into my jacket.

The enemies in this area looked like they were related to the Rogue Tomatoes in some way. They had the same body types, but the coloring was different; these were all red as opposed to the Rogue Tomato’s beige colored body. Not to mention the spikes on top of the heads of these ones. I drew Stygian and coated her in air magic to slash at the not-tomatoes we came across, helping the others take them down as I tried to distract myself from the sandsea beneath us.

I quickly came to the realization that this world wanted me dead.

“Th-that’s…” I took a sharp breath and forced myself to speak, staring at what I’d somehow overlooked from the ground. “That’s a _bridge…_ over a _sea of sand_ … It’s like… every nightmare I’ve ever had all rolled into one convenient, horrifying package.”

“What is there to be afraid of?” Ashe asked me, crossing her arms and tapping her foot. I grit my teeth together and looked down to the waves of the sandsea below. It wasn’t the _height_ that was getting to me; in fact the height was probably the only part of this entire situation that I was completely okay with.

“Well for _one thing_ , I apparently have a very _strong_ phobia of bridges that I never had before I ended up in this universe, so there’s _that_ ,” I hissed, squeezing my eyes shut. “Secondly, I’ve always had an issue with water being too deep for me to see the bottom. Seas and oceans especially, but even lakes freak me out once I get out far enough. Thirdly, I _fucking hate sand_. This is a _bridge._ Over a _sea._ Of _sand_. I am _living my nightmares_ , here, Princess Ashelia. Please just let me try to deal with this in peace.”

She huffed and turned to look at the bridge.

“If you’re just going to hold us back then I’m going on,” she muttered. “We don’t have the time to stand around waiting for you to get past this silly fear.”

“You all can handle the enemies on the bridges, correct?” Balthier asked from behind me.

“Of course,” Basch replied, “Why do you ask?”

Instead of answering, Balthier closed the distance between us and wrapped an arm around my waist to pull me against his side.

“Just hold on to me,” he said in a low, calming voice. “Focus on me. We’ll be across to the other side before you know it.”

I turned my face to bury it into his shoulder and tried to focus on his breathing as he led me forward.

“There you go, Songbird,” he whispered. All I could smell was sandalwood and vanilla, and it went a long way to calming my racing thoughts.

 _‘Oh, you’ve got it_ **_bad_** _.’_

 _‘So do you,’_ I shot back, letting the sound of the others fighting distract me further.

_‘Duh, I’m you. We feel the same things.’_

“You can look now, Songbird,” Balthier said softly after a few moments. I peeled myself away from his shoulder to see that we were on the other side of the bridge and I took a deep, calming breath before nodding slowly. I took the chance to squeeze his hand gratefully before letting go and turning away.

We were set upon almost immediately by another not-tomato, which Basch kindly informed me were called Alraunes, after it rounded the curve of the walkway we were on that was attached to the huge metal water-tower-esque structure. I focused, conjuring a replica of Rebellion from _DMC: Devil May Cry_ out of my air magic, and it hovered in the air next to my face for a split second before I flung my hand forward.

Rebellion flew forward to impale the thing. Ashe lunged immediately afterward, swinging her blade hard, and the alraune fell to the walkway, dead. She nodded to me and I followed the rest of the group silently.

Immediately we came to an example of why I didn’t entirely trust these bridges. There was one that, for whatever reason- be it time, or damage, or both, had fallen and was now drooped toward the sandy sea below. The rest of it and the structure it had once gone to were nowhere to be seen.

There was a much shorter bridge just a little ways past the fallen one that was only a couple yards long.

“I think…” I trailed off, examining it closely. “I think I’ll be okay to cross this one. I mean it’s not exactly a bridge, right? More of a walkway?”

“It appears sturdy enough,” Basch reasoned and I nodded, clenching my teeth and forcing myself to cross.

On the other side I let out a quiet breath and Penelo took my hand in hers to give it a squeeze. I smiled weakly at her, following Ashe’s lead around the tank-like structure, only to come to a screeching halt. The bridge we were looking at now was longer than the first we’d crossed by a good bit and my breath hissed through my teeth.

“I fucking hate this,” I muttered, shaking my head. “I’m so sorry…”

_‘I’m just holding them back. Slowing them down.’_

_‘You can’t help your fear.’_

_‘But I wasn’t afraid of bridges_ **_before_** _! What the hell changed?!’_

_‘I… have no idea.’_

“Everyone fears something, Songbird,” Balthier said, tucking me back into his side. “There’s nothing to apologize for.”

“I’m going to be _fucking_ useless for as long as we have to cross these stupid bridges…” I whispered, burying my face into his shoulder as we started walking. “I wasn’t always afraid of them! I don’t know what changed! Why am I afraid now when I wasn’t before?”

The arm around me tightened slightly.

“You don’t need to know why,” he replied. “Just that you are.”

I hummed softly, letting his steady breathing be a guide for mine.

“It’s not like it isn’t an understandable fear, though,” I whispered into his shoulder, justifying the fear more to myself than to him. “Bridges can collapse. We literally just saw one that had.”

Not nearly soon enough and yet, somehow all too soon, he was letting me go again on the other side and I murmured my thanks as my attention and Vaan's were both drawn to the main structure connected to the system of bridges we were traversing. I got a little closer to the railing of the walkway, curiosity overpowering my dislike of the sandsea below. It almost looked like…

_‘An offshore oil rig… but… much more extensive, if this bridge system is anything to go by. It’s almost like a city all on its own.’_

“A construct to draw oil from the ground,” Basch said, drawing a nod of understanding from me. “Abandoned many years now, it seems.”

“Did Dalmascans build this?” Vaan asked for us both.

“No. The Rozarrians,” Basch replied. I turned to look at him, listening intently while Balthier, Fran, and Ashe walked a little farther ahead. “Their Empire lies far to the west, ever at war with Archadia. Heedless of the kingdoms caught in their midst. Dalmasca. Nabradia. Landis.”

I frowned. “I mean, yeah, that’s shitty of them… But have you ever considered… that’s what Empires _do_?”

“What do you mean, it is ‘what they do’?” Basch questioned. Vaan looked curious as to what I meant too.

“I mean, that’s kind of the definition of an Empire, Captain. Conquest,” I clarified, moving to where I could lean my back against what I now figured was an oil tower, not a water tower. I spotted Vossler coming up behind Basch across the bridge, but he didn’t look like he was going to try to capture us, so I kept talking; elaborating on my point. “The Persians, the Romans, the Mongolians, the Arabs, the British; five powerful Empires that came to power at various points over the course of my society’s history. All of them made their legacies by _conquering_. And all of them eventually crumbled like the rest. Empires rise and fall, that’s just how it works. A fact of life. The kingdoms, democracies, and republics on the sidelines just have to hold on to something sturdy and hope for the best. Pray to their God or gods that they're left standing when all is said and done and the dust settles.”

“‘Tis the small craft’s fate: to watch the list of the galleons and pray for light winds,” Vossler said, drawing Basch, Penelo, and Vaan’s attention to himself. I hummed softly, my lips twitching in a small smile.

“Eloquently put, Captain Azelas,” I said with a nod in his direction.

“Vossler! Why are you here?” Basch asked.

“Imagine my surprise when, upon my return to Bhujerba, I find that both you and the Lady Ashe had vanished,” Vossler said. “I thought you above consorting with sky pirates.” I immediately bristled, my previous good mood from talking about histories vanishing entirely.

“Hey, Soldier,” I growled, shrugging off the tank behind me to square my shoulders. “Before you place the blame on Cap, you should know that it was your princess’ idea. Vaan tried to talk her out of stealing the airship. Sparrow tried to leave her in Bhujerba. I tried to talk her out of this ridiculous plan she concocted in a split-second decision that would give even _Eos’_ Outlier pause for a moment, suggesting that Balthier kidnap her. If you want to blame anyone for this idiocy, blame _her_.”

“Balthier is a man worthy of our trust,” Basch added, backing me up. I let out a silent breath of relief that I wouldn’t be the only one defending him. “And, as my companion said, it was the Lady Ashe’s decision. I am content to lend my arm. As I could not when Rasler died, when her throne was taken. Never again. I will defend her this time.”

“You walk the knight’s path,” Vossler said agreeably. Apparently he was here to talk to Ashe, so Basch pointed him in the right direction. I blew out a long sigh, closing my eyes and pretending I was anywhere but where I was.

“Friend,” I corrected softly. At Basch’s confused sound, I clarified myself. “I’m your friend, not just your companion or ally.”

“I… thank you, then, for your friendship,” he said slowly, as if he wasn’t entirely sure what to say. “Do you tire?” I shrugged and opened my eyes, looking toward Balthier and Fran as I spoke.

“Being constantly worried that one of these bridges is going to collapse under our feet is already taking its toll,” I admitted reluctantly. “But stopping won’t do me any good until we’re back on solid ground. So there’s no point in resting right now. When we get the hell off this oil rig city, then we can take a break if you want.”

I made my way quietly over to Balthier and Fran, breathing a little bit easier once I was close to the sky pirate again.

“We should leave this place,” Fran told him as I slowed to a stop between them.

“Let me guess: sandstorm?” Balthier asked, looking out over the sea.

“Something far worse,” Fran replied with a shake of her head.

“Cheerful,” I murmured softly. “What’s worse than nature having its own sandblaster and deciding to take a few layers of your skin off?”

Fran eyed me. “Pray you do not have to find out. We are in Urutan-Yensa territory.”

I pressed my lips together into a thin line, not knowing exactly what that meant. Judging from the way Balthier almost immediately turned and jogged toward Ashe, I was willing to bet it wasn’t a good thing. I quickly followed him, easily keeping up as my mind supplied me with context clues.

 _‘She called it their territory. Usually the term “territory” is used when the group_ **_occupying_ ** _the area in question is… not averse to using extreme violence to keep what they deem theirs. It has its roots in a nearly animalistic urge to survive. Wolf packs, especially, are extremely territorial.’_

“We leave at once!” He informed Vossler and the princess as he got close. “This is Urutan-Yensa territory, and they are unfond of visitors.”

Chattering and cheers carried to us on the wind then and I felt my blood run cold. The sound was extremely similar to a coyote pack back home and there was _no_ mistaking that sound for anything but what it was.

 _‘Hunting party,’_ my inner voice supplied, drawing a gasping breath from me.

“Looks like we’ve attracted the wrong sort of attention,” Balthier said hurriedly. “Let’s quit this place while we still can!”

I whirled to look out over the sea with wide eyes. There were monsters moving quickly across the sandsea, too many to count from so far away.

 _' **T**_ ** _h_** ** _ey're_ ** **_hunting me._ ** _’_

I heard a couple gasps from off to my sides and I felt the Mist shift in the air, but all I could focus on was the growing panic.

 _‘_ **_They know I'm different._ ** _'_

“Go! I’ll take care of her!” A familiar, soothing voice ordered.

 _'_ **_They know I have magic now._ ** _'_

I felt my breathing pick up and my heartbeat sky-rocketed.

 _'_ **_THEY KNOW I'M A WITCH._ ** _’_

I heard a high-pitched whine that I vaguely acknowledged came from me.

“Songbird.”

Balthier.

That was Balthier.

He was right next to me, but all I could do was stare in frozen horror at the hunting party racing across the sandsea. He gripped my chin and gently turned my face toward him, his fingers stroking along my jaw soothingly. “Calm down. Please. We’re going to make it out of here, but you need to focus. Don’t let fear overwhelm you.”

All I could think of were pages and illustrations from history books. The thing I loved so much, the thing that could nearly always serve to calm me. All my history knowledge turned against me in an instant.

My newfound fear of bridges may have had some basis in… not logic, but reality. This fear was nothing like that. I hadn’t lived in the 15th century, obviously, but the _horror stories_ of what happened to independent, free-thinking women -women like _me_ \- had stuck with me. It had instilled a fear in me so thoroughly that it was all I could do to wrestle myself back from the edge of hysteria. I could feel my fear feeding into the Mist like my anger had before, but I couldn’t focus enough to figure out what it was doing.

“ _Witch hunts_ ,” I whimpered, squeezing my eyes shut.

“Come on, Songbird. Come back to us,” Balthier murmured, his hand moving to cup the side of my face as his thumb brushed gently back and forth. “We need to leave. Now.”

I took a deep breath and nodded, forcing my eyes open to focus on him. It took every bit of my willpower to shove the spiraling panic attack into a corner of my mind palace and slam the door behind it.

“There we are,” Balthier said softly, catching the moment clarity returned to my eyes. He nudged me in the right direction and we broke out into a run to follow the others. Fran had waited for us and was running on my left, Balthier on my right.

I barely had time to think about the next bridge when we rounded the oil tanker and spotted it before Balthier was scooping me up into his arms, hardly breaking stride.

“You’re going to wear yourself out if you have to carry me _and_ run from the hunting party,” I told him, even as my hands held on tight. “Trust me when I say that my fear of being hunted far outweighs my fear of bridges.”

He briefly glanced down at me, his mouth thinning into a straight line. “Are you certain?”

I looked back to see what I could only assume to be the previously mentioned Urutan-Yensa still racing toward the abandoned oil platform and a shudder rippled through my frame.

“Very,” I whispered.

“Alright then,” he said softly. “Get ready to hit the ground running… Now!”

On his signal, he twisted and slowed just enough to drop my legs to the ground without me stumbling. I immediately kicked up into a sprint and gave us a tailwind. My fear was still fluctuating the Mist around us, though I still wasn’t entirely sure what it was doing. I could only hope that it was doing something useful. We quickly caught up to the others.

“Are you finished letting this inane fear of bridges control you?” Ashe asked breathlessly.

“Probably not,” I panted in response, sending multiple Rebellions flying toward an Alraune ahead of us. “Just remembered something I fear more than the bridges.”

I reached out to wrap my hand around the railing, using it to fling myself around the corner without losing momentum as I followed Vaan and Penelo down a ramp. We were headed for the solid ground I remembered from the map where our path forked slightly and if we hadn’t been running from the Urutan-Yensa hunting party, I would have breathed a sigh of relief. I used the inside railing of the ramp to once again redirect my momentum without having to slow down.

Neither turn had jerked my shoulders quite as much as I’d expected, but I didn’t take the time to really think about it. I saw hunched, child-sized figures _scuttling_ around near the bottom of the ramp and I got a sinking feeling. That feeling was confirmed a moment later by Balthier, and I snarled a curse.

“Urutan-Yensa.”

“ _Shit_.”

Without actually thinking about what I was doing, I launched myself into the air before I came off the ramp and waved my dominant hand horizontally in front of my body. It almost felt like time had slowed, with the way my body seemed to almost hover in the air for a moment.

Five air Rebellions and five water tridents representing Poseidon manifested and flew toward the two figures closest to the stairs. I fell to the sand below and let my momentum push me forward into a roll before ending up back on my feet and skidding to a stop as Vaan and Ashe finished the two off.

I turned to see another Urutan next to a ramp that would take us up onto a dead-end section of the oil rig and Stygian whipped free of her sheathe to slash through the air in the direction of the next enemy. Vossler was already heading toward it. Apparently fighting alongside me on the Leviathan was enough for him to anticipate my magic, as he didn’t seem surprised when the air blade I’d unleashed slashed into the Urutan.

Once we’d taken that one down I sheathed Stygian again and tried to catch my breath quickly. I didn’t want to waste any more time than we already had. Fear still twisted like a knife in my gut and the Mist continued to stir gently against my skin, almost as if it was trying to calm me. I pulled the map of Ogir-Yensa from my jacket and opened it, quickly orienting myself. My eyes trailed over the lines and paths on the map.

After a moment I folded the map again and slipped it back into my pocket.

“Alright, I think I got it,” I breathed, more to myself. Then I raised my voice for the others to hear. “Let me know when you’re ready to move, because as soon as our feet hit the metal of that ramp-” I pointed across the area to the path that wasn’t a dead-end, “-we’re running again if we can.”

“What is it you fear more than the bridges?” Ashe asked as she finished catching her breath, following me toward the ramp I’d indicated at a comfortable pace. I wasn't stupid enough to try making us run through sand.

“Witch hunts,” I replied, my voice still slightly breathless; though, this time it was from fear. “A completely baseless, illogical fear; the witch hunts had been over for centuries. The most recent had ended almost exactly three centuries to the year before I was even born.

"Although…” I paused, pursing my lips in thought. “The Spanish Inquisition was originally intended to root out those who would oppose the newly unified kingdom of Spain or the Catholic church that backed the Spanish King and Queen, including those thought to be witches… It technically lasted until the early 1800s, so I guess the most recent was really only one-hundred-sixty-ish years before I was born.”

“Why fear them if they were over long before you drew your first breath?” Basch inquired softly. I winced.

“Because studying the witch hunts that were prominent in all of Europe throughout the 14-1500’s, the Spanish Inquisition that lasted from the late 1470’s until the mid 1830’s, and the Salem witch trials of 1692-1693 made one thing _glaringly_ clear to my teenage mind,” I told them, flinging my hand forward to hurl water tridents at the Urutan that had spotted us from the ramp we were headed to.

“And that was?” Balthier prompted. I glanced over at him, letting Vossler charge forward to finish off the wounded Urutan.

“People will always fear what they don’t understand, and there will _always_ be something or some _one_ they don’t understand,” I said softly. “Whether it’s a free-thinking woman in a time when women were little more than possessions, a Caribbean woman who was sold into slavery, or a girl transplanted from one universe to another and given magic. Someone will always choose fear instead of education. Someone will always choose to hate and persecute someone they don’t understand.

“Four centuries of terror. Four centuries of the Church burning, stoning, pressing, hanging, beheading, or drowning anyone who dared to oppose them.” I grit my teeth as my boots made contact with the metal ramp, but I didn’t break into a run. There was another Urutan above us, just around the corner of the incline, and I conjured an earthen kunai, representing my love for _Naruto,_ into my hand to hurl it towards the enemy. Vossler charged ahead, I continued talking.

“Four centuries of irrefutable proof showing just how _cruel_ humanity can be even, or maybe especially, to itself. They may have ended long before I was born; but the violence and terror of those four centuries still echoes across history as a warning to future generations that it could _always_ happen again, and next time it might not be _them_. Next time it might be the ones who think they’re _normal_. Who think they’re part of a _majority_.” I took a steadying breath as I rounded the corner of the ramp and sent another kunai hurtling toward the Urutan to deal the killing blow. “Too often, men with power care more for that power than they do their fellow man.”

“A rather cynical view,” Vossler observed, rejoining us.

“And yet, very few have proved it wrong, Soldier,” I retorted softly.

We came up onto the metal platform leading to the next set of bridges and I conjured Rebellion replicas with a flick of my wrist as I eyed another Urutan. I noticed two more Urutan spot our group from next to the bridge on the other side of the platform and turned my sights on them, moving to intercept them as Ashe, Penelo, and Vossler took on my original target.

My Rebellions flew forward toward the two newcomers, two for each. I drew Stygian and used my air magic to propel me forward after them. The blade sank through the first one, right in between two Rebellions as they disappeared. The other Urutan took that opportunity to attack and I barely managed to side step the slash, yanking my blade free of the first one in the process. Instead of landing, the attack grazed across the exposed part of my abdomen from one side to the other and I hissed at the stinging sensation left behind.

“Oh, you’re gonna regret that,” I growled, my eyes narrowing as I twirled my sword and drew my dagger. Sure, it was a little overkill, but that slash had been dangerously close to disemboweling me. I lunged forward, blocking the next strike with both of my blades crossed. When it pushed against my block, I gave it a little room to overextend. Then I ducked and used the crossed blades to redirect the strike harmlessly over my head and past me.

The Urutan chittered angrily at me, but it couldn’t recover in time and before it could regain its balance I had dropped to the metal floor and spun. My foot flashed out as I began to rotate and I snagged it around the Urutan’s lower leg. As soon as I felt the kick connect I grinned and yanked my foot back toward me, pulling the leg with me and forcing the Urutan into some twisted version of the splits.

I slipped my dagger back into its sheath as I stood again. The Urutan was crawling to its feet as well, but not fast enough. Stygian flashed to the side, decapitating the last Urutan. I turned back to my friends, twirling Stygian again to sling the blood off before slipping her back into her sheath as well. Balthier stepped forward, frowning, but Penelo ran up to me before he could say anything and muttered a spell under her breath.

“Penni,” I murmured, reaching out to run a hand over her hair as the healing energy washed over me in a warm rush. “It was just a scratch. You shouldn’t waste magic. Certainly not on me.”

“And _you_ shouldn’t be so reckless,” Balthier said in return as he came to a stop in front of me. His eyes were glued to my now healed stomach and, seemingly without thinking, he reached out to brush his fingers against the edge of where the wound had started. He’d barely made contact with my newly healed skin -just the ghost of a touch, really- when he snatched his hand away and looked up to meet my eyes. “You’re not the only one who can fight them. Let the rest of us do some work too.”

I tilted my head, not sure what to say to that, then I turned toward the bridge behind me.

“Come on, that hunting party is still coming. We should keep moving.” I broke into a trot, forcing myself not to think about the sandsea below as I crossed the bridge. I hadn’t been lying when I said my fear of being hunted far outweighed my fear of the bridges.

“Who is this ‘them’, you mentioned before?” Ashe asked, coming up beside me. It took me a moment to remember what I had been talking about, but when I did I hummed softly, then shrugged.

“Take your pick, Princess,” I told her. Judging from the silence behind us, I guessed the others were listening again. “Gays, Jews, Pagans, Muslims, women, people of different races, people with mental disorders… Pretty much every _‘minority’_ has gotten it at least once.” Anger bled into my voice at the thought of so many people being taught to fear other people for things outside their control.

Everyone stayed silent after that, presumably thinking over what I’d told them. I led the way down the path I’d attempted to memorize off the map and tried not to think about the hunting party or the way I’d frozen at the sound of their cries and calls. Fighting the Urutan and various wildlife monsters wandering along the pathways of the oil rig city was a decent enough distraction from my thoughts. We made good time but, still, the sun was far across the sky by the time we reached the end of the oil rig part of the Ogir-Yensa.

Once we descended the final ramp and my feet touched solid ground -even if it _was_ sand- I breathed a relieved sigh. There were no more bridges in sight for the moment, just nice, safe cliff faces rising up on either side of us.

_‘You ever hear the expression “shooting fish in a barrel”?’_

_‘Shut it. At least there’s no more fucking bridges right now. Not to mention this should be the end of the Ogir-Yensa. Hopefully that means taking a break, because I can’t deal with more bridges today.’_

_‘We haven’t heard the hunting party in hours. It should probably be fine.’_

I led the way down a shadowed, narrow passageway between the cliff faces. The passageway came out to an area with a few scattered palm tree type things, though there was no water for an oasis; so I wasn’t quite sure how the trees survived. I also spotted a moogle and an Urutan standing in front of a gap in the rocky cliffs overlooking… _more_ sandsea. The Urutan seemed to be ignoring us, so I returned the favor, heaving a sigh and glaring at the sea.

“Is it too much to ask for a nice, pretty, blue ocean?” My voice was little more than a mumble, and I didn’t figure anyone could actually hear me. “I mean, I’d still be just as terrified of the bridges, but at least I would feel a little less out of place…”

A hand placed itself on my back and, by now, I didn’t need to look to know Balthier was standing next to me. I let myself tip sideways, trusting him to catch me, and glanced toward Basch. The hand at my back slid around so that Balthier’s arm secured itself around me instead to keep me from falling anywhere but into his side.

Basch was watching the moogle as it talked to the Urutan. He moved to cautiously approach but, as soon as the Urutan noticed him, it scuttled away as quickly as its legs would carry it. I watched it retreat with a vague sense of shock, then reluctantly pushed myself upright to follow Basch to the moogle.

“Did you see that Urutan-Yensa just now, kupo?” The moogle asked us when we came to a stop in front of it. I was still glaring at the sandsea, but I listened in. “Usually they’re a violent lot… but this one wanted help.” That drew my attention away from the sea and down to the moogle. I crouched carefully, keeping my movements slow and easy to read in case this moogle startled easily.

“What do you mean, it wanted help?” I asked.

“The Urutan-Yensa are all up in a panic about a creature on the Nam-Yensa sandsea,” the moogle explained. “Their blood enemy, it seems! One of them was asking for help… an Urutan-Yensa, asking for help! Whatever it is, it’s got to be bad, kupo.”

“Interesting,” I heard Balthier mumble behind me. I was pretty sure we were thinking the same thing: take care of the blood enemy in exchange for safe passage through the sandseas.

“You look pretty strong… maybe you could have a swing at the thing, kupo? It’s supposed to be something like a giant tortoise…”

I stood and looked out over the sandsea again, getting lost in memories of playing _Final Fantasy XV_ to remember the name of the creature that fit that description. I’d immediately recognized it, I just had to think of the name.

“Adamantoise,” I whispered softly after a moment. The ones I knew of from Eos were tough- like, max level, five-star hunt tough if my memory served me correctly; but the ones from Eorzea were pretty much just trash mobs in the open world.

“He said he’d found some treasure of the sandsea too,” the moogle added, seeming unsure of whether or not we planned to help. “Why, you might be able to claim that as a reward if you’re successful, kupo.”

Vaan pulled me off to the side, Penelo, Fran, and Balthier trailing behind us while Basch, Vossler, and Ashe finished talking to the moogle.

“You know something,” Vaan said immediately when he came to a stop. “I know that look; it’s the look you get when your weird extra knowledge tells you something you shouldn’t actually know about our world.”

The other three turned their attention to me as I tilted my head back to stare at the darkening sky, streaked with violets, lavenders, and pinks. A sigh passed my lips and I heard the others approaching us, so I waited for them. Basch and Ashe would have to hear about it too, and Vossler already knew something was off about me.

“Yeah, I know something.” My eyes flicked to Basch before turning back to the sky. “What’s the word, Cap? Are we taking down the tortoise or not?”

“I see no reason not to, since we will be passing that way anyway,” he replied. I bobbed my head in a half nod, made slightly awkward for the way my head was still hanging back to angle my face to the sky.

“Welp, as far as my freaky extra knowledge goes; we’re either gonna be fighting for our lives against a tortoise that’s bigger than nature should honestly allow, or it’s gonna be a walk in the park.” My voice held false cheer and I finally lowered my head to look at the others. “What we’re going up against is called an adamantoise. On Eorzea, they’re… uh… probably about the same durability and difficulty as the mimic queen? Only they don’t have any special attacks, they pretty much just snap at you.”

“I assume that would be the ‘walk in the park’ option?” Balthier asked, smirking at me. I pointed at him.

“Correct. Sparrow gets a cookie. Eorzea’s adamantoise are a cakewalk… especially in comparison to Eos’.”

“Eos is the ‘fighting for our lives’ option,” Ashe concluded, crossing her arms. I nodded.

“Yeah, Eos’ adamantoise is a Hunter contract. The highest level difficulty hunt of it’s specific section of Lucis. Only veteran Hunters can take the hunt, and even then they need to be careful or they’ll get their asses handed to them. Though, Eos is really a ‘worse-case-scenario’,” I admitted. “I _highly_ doubt the adamantoise that’s got the Urutan-Yensa’s panties in a twist is even close to the size of a mountain.”

_‘Actually, it was more like a plateau.’_

_‘Alright, TeamFourStar, but no one asked you.’_

_‘R00d.’_

“A _mountain_?” Penelo whispered in shock. I reached out to ruffle her hair.

“Okay, maybe a plateau instead of a mountain. My point remains, though, that it’s more than likely not that big. In fact, I’ll put money on it being vaguely north of Eorzea’s adamantoise. Nowhere near Eos’.”

“How reassuring,” Vaan muttered and I reached out to poke his forehead.

“I’m glad you agree, little brother.” I turned my attention to Basch. “You said if we got tired we would rest?” He nodded and I looked at the ground. “Hunted or no, I can’t handle anymore bridges today. Plus we should be at full strength for that adamantoise and it will still be there in the morning. Can we rest here for the night?”

“I think the lady makes a fair point,” Balthier said. “I certainly don’t fancy fighting off a giant tortoise in our current condition, no matter what landmass its size might resemble.”

Basch looked around at the rest of the group before nodding. “Yes, I believe we are all in need of rest, whether we would like to admit it or not.”

I breathed a soft sigh of relief as the others started to move away, presumably to get a camp set up, and let my eyes fall shut for a moment.

 _‘There_ **_is_ ** _a god…’_

“We should make our camp over against the rock face,” Basch said, his voice fading slightly as he walked away. I assumed he was talking to Vossler. I stood still as a statue and silently reveled in the opportunity to simply exist under the vibrant desert sunset.

“Are you going to stand there all night?” Balthier’s voice asked after a long while. He’d left to help the others set up camp, so I must have been standing there for a good bit. I opened my eyes to see that the sun had now truly set, stars sprinkled across the sky in wholly unfamiliar patterns. I felt my eyes mist up a little, but I pushed the tears back and turned to the sandsea.

What I saw made my breath catch in my throat. The moon was nearly full as it rose into the sky, and the glow cast an eerily beautiful pallor across the Nam-Yensa. Slowly, I lowered myself to the ground and pulled my knees up to my chest to wrap my arms around them.

“How can something so strange and so… impossible be so beautiful, too?” I asked Balthier softly. I reluctantly uncurled myself so I could take out the oranges I had grabbed at the Marquis’ estate the night before and, as I waited for his answer, I began to peel the first one. Finally, he took a seat in the sand next to me.

“I find myself asking the same thing so very often,” he whispered. I glanced away from my orange to find him looking at me instead of the sea. I felt a blush rise and ducked my face back toward my oranges to finish peeling them in silence.

“I try to hide it from Vaan and Penni,” I said quietly a while later, after finishing the last orange slice as I let myself tilt sideways to lean against Balthier’s arm. I let my head lay on his shoulder and finished my thought. “I try to hide it so I don’t make them sad, since I know they’ve come to see me as their older sister -God only knows why- but… I miss Earth. My home.” Balthier hummed quietly, prompting me to continue. Giving me a chance to bare my soul if I chose to.

“The stars here… they’re beautiful; and nighttime in the desert is truly breathtaking, though I feel that’s true for any planet and any universe. But no matter how beautiful- how _breathtaking_ these nights are… no matter how stunning that moon looks reflecting on the sandsea… I’ll never be able to look into the sky and find Orion, Cassiopeia, or Cygnus. 

“That hauntingly beautiful moon, my favorite part of the night, isn’t the moon I know. Neil Armstrong didn’t land on it. There are no flags planted on its surface, marking the countries that _made it all the way_ -” my unintentional ramble cut off as my throat closed around the words. I held a hand out in front of me, not bothering to lift my head or wipe away the tear I could feel trailing down my cheek toward Balthier’s shirt sleeve.

I used my earth magic to conjure a globe, and covered it in water in the vaguely appropriate areas to get the general outline of the continents.

“Earth?” Balthier asked softly. I nodded against his arm, sniffling as I pointed to the general area of my home state on the North American continent.

“I lived right about here.”

After a moment, I dissipated the water and changed the form of the globe slightly, adding craters and divots.

“This is _much_ less accurate than my, admittedly less than completely accurate, replica of Earth, but this is the moon.”

He reached out to touch it, turning it to see a formless other side. I laughed softly at his look of confusion.

“Thanks to gravity and the speed the earth and the moon revolve around each other, and a bunch of other science and math shit that I never actually bothered to remember, that side of the moon never faces the planet,” I explained for him. “It’s called the dark side of the moon, because light from the sun doesn’t get reflected off the earth’s surface onto it. No one actually knows what it looks like; though, it _is_ theorized in some places that there’s actually a giant ocean covering the entire surface of that side.”

“Fascinating,” he murmured as I let that replica dissipate as well. With a sigh I started cycling through the weapons I had finally decided on to replace the scythes, focusing on the details to cheer myself up. “What are these?”

I smiled softly as I watched each weapon dance above my hand. All twelve materialized in a circle and, with a start I realized what it would look like when I used the real thing in battle.

King’s Chastiefol, Gloxnia’s Basquias, Diane’s Gideon, and Escanor’s Rhitta, all made out of earth magic. Noctis’ Airstep sword, a dragon nikana, Asuna’s Lambent Light from _Sword Art Online_ , and Death’s scythe from _Darksiders_ , formed from shimmering air magic. The last four were Frostmourne from _WoW_ , Tidus’ Brotherhood from _FFX_ , War’s Chaoseater, also from _Darksiders_ , and Loki’s scepter from _The Avengers_ , all replicated with my water magic.

“My Elemental Armiger,” I whispered softly, staring at the weapons for a moment before my eyes drifted shut. Just before I felt myself lose consciousness I heard Balthier’s soft whisper above me.

“ _Sleep well, my Songbird._ ”


	21. Tortoises Are Turtle Imposters, Change My Mind.

“It is time she woke up,” Ashe’s voice roused me. I kept my eyes shut and my muscles relaxed. If there was anything I was good at, it was going back to sleep when I didn’t want to be awake.

“She had a trying day yesterday, Princess,” Balthier whispered softly, trying not to wake me. His voice came from much closer than Ashe’s had. “We should let her sleep a while longer. Raithwall’s tomb will still be there.”

“But-!” I cut Ashe off by rolling over onto my back and pushing myself up into a sitting position. I was laying on the raised rocky area instead of in the sand where I’d been sitting with Balthier the night before and I was extremely thankful for it. I didn’t even want to consider how much sand would have been in my clothes if I’d slept out there.

“It’s alright Sparrow,” I mumbled, blinking sleepily in his direction before reaching up to rub at my eye with a fist. He was seated against the cliff face about a foot away from me. “I’m awake. By some miracle Her Majesty’s voice woke me up.”

“What do you mean, ‘by some miracle’?” Ashe’s voice had taken on an offended quality and I snickered, waving a hand in Vaan’s direction. “Ask either of my siblings.”

“She doesn’t wake up,” Vaan grumbled, eyes cutting over to me as Penelo nodded in agreement next to him. “Not if she isn’t shaken or given incentive. She’s right. It’s a miracle you woke her up just by talking.”

Ashe harrumphed snootily and crossed her arms. “Well, miracle or not, she’s awake now. Which means it’s time to go kill the adamantoise so we can cross the Nam-Yensa.”

I perked up slightly at the mention of the tortoise.

“Oh, yeah! I can’t wait to see it!” I gushed happily, waking up a little bit more.

"See?" Vaan asked. "Incentive." I stuck my tongue out at him as I reached out to slip my hand into the one Balthier offered once he stood. He hoisted me to my feet and I took a moment to stretch, squeezing my eyes shut as my spine popped in a couple different places. Once I let my muscles relax again I opened my eyes to stare at the sandsea.

_‘So that wasn’t just a bad dream or sunstroke.’_

“Kinda wish that had been a hallucination,” I muttered, glaring at the sea. Balthier chuckled next to me.

“No such luck, Songbird. Let’s get going.” As he stepped past me he slipped an orange into my hand with a wink, earning himself a light blush as I dipped my head to hide behind my hair.

“Thanks…”

I set to work peeling my breakfast as I followed the group at a sedate pace through a tunnel in the cliff face heading away from the Ogir-Yensa. The stone around me held in the chill of the night and, miraculously, the air in the tunnel didn’t feel nearly as dry as it had where we’d slept. Thinking of where we’d slept drew my mind inevitably to the night before.

Balthier had let me mourn the shattered illusion that this was anything other than a foreign world, with no judgement for my tears and nothing but understanding kindness in his voice. He had listened to me ramble about stars and constellations and celestial bodies he knew nothing about, presumably because he thought it would make me _feel_ better.

_‘You fell asleep on him.’_

_‘He_ **_let_ ** _me fall asleep on him.’_

_“Sleep well, my Songbird.”_

The words echoed through my mind, so faint that I wondered if I had dreamed it. My eyes drifted from the sand beneath my feet to Balthier’s back as I popped an orange slice in my mouth. I idly wondered if I was just imagining the shift I thought I felt between us after our encounter in the room the Marquis had quartered me in. Then there was the question of how I’d gotten from the edge of the sea where I’d fallen asleep to under the shade of the cliff face where I’d woken up.

_‘The simplest answer is often correct; Balthier moved you.’_

_‘...It could have been the moogle.’_

I smiled at my thoughts, eating the rest of my orange in the same contemplative silence as Vaan and Penelo’s easy chatter filled the air around me. It brushed against my senses and the edges of my mind like a balm, soothing the nerves frayed from my fear the day before and the emotions that had bubbled to the surface after we’d had a chance to take a breather. I hadn’t even realized that Vossler had come up next to me until he was speaking, his voice kept quiet so as not to draw attention.

“Your knowledge is strange,” he observed. I hummed softly, waiting for him to continue. “You’ve spoken of mythologies I’ve never heard of in all my years, of goddesses choosing kings, countries, kingdoms, and empires as unfamiliar as the mythologies, and now of giant tortoises from other worlds.”

I glanced over at him, raising an eyebrow. “Your point?” I finally asked disinterestedly, when it was clear he was waiting for a response.

“Just who _are_ you?”

I huffed a humorless laugh. “I am an Outlier, and should not be counted.” He opened his mouth, presumably to demand a straight answer, but I forged ahead. “There are things about this universe and the way it works that people -myself included- will probably never know or fully understand, Soldier. I am one of those things. I’ve accepted it, you should too.”

His mouth snapped closed and my feet carried me a little faster, allowing me to leave the conversation behind. I relaxed again when I came up next to Fran and Balthier.

“Captain Azelas was getting curious?” Fran asked me softly. I nodded, smiling over at her.

“Apparently he could only take so many off-handed comments about goddesses and mythological creatures or lessons about mythologies and empires he’s never heard of before his curiosity got the better of him,” I told her. “My story about other world…adamantoises? Adamantoisi? What’s the plural of adamantoise? Is it like deer or moose where the plural and the singular are the same thing? Sorry- I’m rambling. My story about the adamantoise on other worlds was apparently the final straw.”

“It is certainly a lot to take in,” Fran admitted.

“You’re lucky Fran here is sensitive to the Mist,” Balthier told me. “She helped convince the princess you were telling the truth.”

I rolled my eyes. “The princess can believe what she wants to. I know my story is the truth, and so do you two and my siblings. That’s all I need.”

_‘Don’t forget you told Vayne, too. He believed you.’_

_‘Vayne had already met Abby when I came clean about my origins. Of course he believed me.’_

We exited the other side of the tunnel just as the ground started to slope downwards. My eyes darted down to Fran’s heel spikes.

“Fran, are you… gonna be okay to get down this hill?” I asked her with uncertainty, glancing between the sandy decline and her footwear again, then looking up to meet her crimson irises. “I’m not sure how you’ve been managing to walk through this terrain, personally I have a bet going with myself that it’s witchcraft but that’s irrelevant- if you need any help I’ll do what I can.”

“I will be fine, thank you.” Fran smirked at me and all of a sudden I realized who her features reminded me of. 

_‘Holy shit. If Tobirama Senju had inherited his brother’s skin tone…’_

I nodded absently, following the tangent of thought I’d just been struck with as we started down the hill. For the most part, I let the others handle the Alraunes that roamed the hillside between the palm-type trees. I would send air Rebellions or Poseidon tridents if the enemy came close, but I was partially saving my energy for the adamantoise.

_‘She could be their long-eared sister.’_

_‘Hold up though-’_

_‘If I remember right, XIV Viera race lore said that the more tanned of the sub-species lived in a forest… near… The Royal City of Rabanastre.’_

“Well hell,” I whispered to myself, too quietly for anyone else to hear. “That was just staring me in the face, waiting for me to notice it, huh.”

 _‘Not even the point I was making but, wow Square, way to hype your previous titles._ **_Anyway_** _, my original point was that the tanned Viera lived secluded in a forest, avoiding outsiders.’_

_‘Hah, The Viera Hidden in the Leaves. I’m calling her Senju now.’_

We had just reached the bottom of the hill when I pulled myself out of my thoughts. There were more Urutan, too, apparently; but these attacked us on sight like all the others we had come across.

I wasn’t sure what had put the tune in my head but, as we made our way across the sands and fought the Urutan that tried to stop us, I started to hum a familiar melody.

“What is that song called?” Ashe asked softly when we reached a lull in the fighting. “It is… very pretty.” I smiled sadly.

“It’s called _Suteki Da Ne_ ,” I replied, thinking of the Wellspring scene from _Final Fantasy X._ “I can’t speak Japanese, so I don’t know the words, but it’s a song from my favorite story.”

“Another of these ‘shows’ you have mentioned before?” Basch asked. “Like… _Naruto_ , was it?”

My smile shifted over to him, while I danced carefully around the truth in case I was taken to Opera Omnia along with them. “No, not exactly. It’s… an Earth thing. But I do love this story… In all actuality, probably more than I love _Naruto_.”

I had been steadfastly ignoring the out-of-place grass and pretty pink flowers growing up near the cliff face, not wanting to get too attached to the sight of actual greenery, but as we neared the sea’s edge I spotted a boardwalk that crossed over a small inlet of the sea. I grimaced and glanced up toward the grass and flowers. As if reading my thoughts, Balthier slid an arm lightly around my waist.

“I’ll be right next to you the whole time, Songbird.”

I heaved a sigh and nodded once before looking up at the side of his face. “I trust you…”

If I hadn’t been in physical contact with him to feel his muscles tense up, I might not have thought anything of his momentary silence or the words that followed it as we walked across the boardwalk.

“Do you, now?”

_‘Is it really so shocking? Either he’s not used to people trusting him or I don’t seem like a very trusting person.’_

“Is it really that surprising?” I echoed my thoughts, lowering my voice so only he -and probably Fran- would hear me. “You haven’t let me fall to my death, watery or sandy, yet and you’ve never left me to cross a bridge alone if you could help it. Why wouldn’t I trust you?”

“I suppose you make a fair point,” he conceded, glancing down at me with his lips quirked into a soft half-smile. We made it to the other side and dispatched the Urutan there, pausing for Vaan to open a chest. My eyes slid away from my brother and off to the right, movement catching my attention. When I realized what I was seeing a small grin formed on my lips as I let out a little ‘ _huh_ ’ sound.

The sound caught Basch’s attention and he looked at me, only for me to gesture in the direction I was looking.

“That’s sure as shit not big enough to be mistaken for a mountain _or_ a plateau,” I said, slight relief flooding my veins. I hadn’t been looking forward to fighting the Final Fantasy equivalent of the modified Torterra from _Detective: Pikachu_ ; one of the reasons I was somewhat glad I had ended up _here_ instead of Eos. I wasn’t sure if Abby and the others would ever end up taking that hunt (since they were already through the Altissia events when Opera Omnia started I doubted they would, but canonically Noct was in the crystal for a _long-ass time_. There’s no telling what trouble Abby would get herself into while Noct was busy with Bahamut’s nonsense), but I was perfectly happy living in a world where we _couldn’t_ mistake tortoises for geographical landmarks.

I started forward, intending to take the lead and engage the adamantoise first to draw its attention, but a hand wrapped around my upper arm and yanked me backwards into a firm chest.

“Oh, no, you don’t,” Balthier muttered above my head as Basch and Vossler took the lead instead. I squirmed, trying to break free, but it didn’t work. When his other arm came up to wrap around me and keep me pinned, I knew I was trapped until he deigned to let me go. “You’re not throwing yourself into this fight, Songbird. Not like you’ve thrown yourself into other fights- literally, in some cases.”

I wondered where he’d gotten the “literally” from for a moment before I realized he was talking about when I had used myself as an impromptu projectile against a skeleton. “That was to keep Larsa safe,” I said defensively.

“I’m aware; but you’ve been proven to make extremely questionable decisions when it comes to keeping any of us safe, not just Larsa,” he shot back. I fell silent, eyes dropping to my feet as we followed Basch and Vossler’s lead. He wasn’t wrong.

“It’s just-”

“I don’t want to hear you say it’s because the rest of us belong here,” he cut me off. “You’ve given us that reasoning before; calling yourself _cannon fodder_. If you didn’t belong here, you wouldn’t _be_ here.”

Any argument I might have made died in my throat, and I looked up at him with wide eyes as our group engaged the adamantoise in battle.

“Nothing reckless, Songbird,” Balthier said in warning as he reluctantly released me so he could draw his gun. I swallowed and nodded, stepping away so he could fire without it being directly next to my ear.

_“If you didn’t belong here, you wouldn’t be here.”_

I reached out to the empty air in front of me, conjuring a Rebellion as my hand closed onto a once imaginary handle.

_‘If you didn’t belong here…’_

I pulled my arm back over my shoulder, looking directly at the adamantoise.

_‘You wouldn’t be here…’_

I let a slow, calming breath out, letting my focus narrow to a point. From this close I could see that its shell looked like metal, light blue with a gold edge that seemed to have a pattern engraved on it from the way it caught the sun. Even its head seemed to be metal, fused to the shell behind it, and there were silvery shackles attached to its legs (the only organic looking thing about the entire creature) with chains connecting all four shackles. It was… kind of pretty, in a giant-sentient-ornamental-turkish-tortoise sort of way.

_‘I don’t know if you’re right or wrong about that, Sparrow, but it’s something I hadn’t considered.’_

Then I swung my arm forward as hard as I could, my hand releasing Rebellion on instinct to send it flying at the tortoise.

“yEET, BITCH!” I screamed as the sword flew from my hand. Most of the group, aside from Vaan and Penelo who had only jumped before recognizing what I’d yelled, one from training in the waterway with me and the other from hearing Vaan complain afterward, whirled to stare at me in shock. I grabbed another air replica Rebellion from thin- well, _air_ , and sent it hurtling immediately after the first. “The fuck are you guys just standing there for?! I was told ‘Don’t be reckless’ not, ‘Don’t throw air swords at the giant imposter turtle’!”

“Some would consider those one and the same,” I heard Balthier mutter softly. I grinned in his vague direction, my eyes not leaving my target as I added earthen kunai to the projectiles I was currently flinging through the air.

“Obviously I’m not included in that group, Sparrow.”

“ _Obviously._ ”

As much as I had been looking forward to beating down a _not_ -the-size-of-a-plateau tortoise, I decided to let Basch and Vossler do the tanking. The genuine concern for my safety I’d seen in Balthier’s eyes when I’d looked up at him had put a damper on any of my more reckless tendencies and urges… for the moment.

The tortoise went to stomp on Basch and I dropped to a knee to slam my palm down against the sand. I felt the Mist flow to follow my command and an oversized earthen Master Shield sprung from the ground between them to curve over Basch protectively as the oversized tortoise foot slammed into the shield. It slid down the curved surface and back to the sandy ground. Basch nodded at me gratefully and I returned it as the shield crumbled into nothing to let him attack again.

I returned to my feet and let my water magic form the first weapon I thought of as my hand dropped to the side. As I darted forward to join the others I glanced at the sword in my hand and grinned. Tidus’ Brotherhood sparkled in the sunlight and sent a wave of nostalgia over me. I slashed it down at the adamantoise in a strike Tidus himself would be proud of and the water blade sliced through the thick flesh of the leg in front of me.

The adamantoise let out an enraged shriek and I threw myself backwards with the help of my air magic to get out of the way as it turned to slam its foot down on top of me. I landed near Balthier who huffed.

“I thought I said don’t be reckless!”

“Hey, if Basch and Vossler let Ashe get close I should be allowed to get close too, Sparrow,” I shot back at him as I closed the distance again. The Urutan that had been fighting the adamantoise before we had showed up were almost all dead, the tortoise choosing to focus them down in the beginning until it was clear that our group was the bigger threat. There was only one left and it was chattering angrily at us as it shot arrow after arrow, each one bouncing uselessly off the metal shell.

Then I saw an opening. I let Brotherhood dissipate and an earthen Chastiefol took its place. I wrapped my other hand around the shaft of the spear and shoved it forward, throwing my bodyweight behind the blow. Basch, Ashe, and Vaan had just landed three simultaneous hits to the other legs when Chastiefol slipped between the right hind leg and the edge of the shell. The blade sank into the soft flesh under the shell drawing out a tortured shriek from the creature before it collapsed to the ground.

Chastiefol crumbled away and I stepped back from the dead adamantoise, coughing at the sand that had flown into the air. The last Urutan turned its sights on us and readied an arrow, aiming at the princess, and I instinctively darted between them; conjuring another Rebellion to fling through the air at the enemy. I was a split second too late and the Urutan released the arrow as my air sword impaled itself in its target.

The instant I heard the ‘ _twang_ ’ of the bow string I clapped my hands together and pushed them outwards, the air between myself and the Urutan increasing in pressure. A wall of water reinforced the pressurized air, followed by another earthen Master Shield behind that. I let out a shaky breath when I recognized the sound of an arrow hitting water. My heart was beating hard from the adrenaline coursing through my veins and I turned to pull Ashe out from behind the shield before I dropped it. Basch and Vossler had moved to finish off the Urutan while I had been focused on the barriers.

“You defended me,” Ashe said, sounding stunned.

“I did,” I responded to her. My voice was bland, bored sounding, even though I was just as confused as she was. If it had been Vaan or Penelo or Larsa, I would have understood the instinct to protect that had raced through me like a Californian wildfire in summer. It hadn’t been them, though; it had been _Ashe_. A woman that not two days ago I hadn’t cared less about. Hell, I _still_ didn’t care about her… Did I?

_‘Maybe because she’s royalty? She might be a bitch but you know as well as I do that we have a Thing about royalty; even royals we don’t agree with.’_

_‘Or. And hear me out here. We’re starting to not hate her.’_

I felt my nose wrinkle and shook my head slightly to pull myself away from my thoughts.

“Why would you defend me?” She asked, pure confusion lacing her voice as she turned to stare at me.

“Instinct,” I told her simply, walking away from her and toward Balthier who was shaking his head slightly.

“I thought I said nothing reckless,” he told me once I came to a stop in front of him. I shrugged.

“I can’t do anything about instinct, Sparrow,” I replied, moving my right hand to grab hold of my left arm as I looked to the side. “I can try to stop the intentional recklessness, but that was entirely my instinct to protect…”

_‘My friends. Fuck. You were right, we’re starting to not hate her.’_

“Basch wouldn’t have let anything happen to the princess,” Balthier pointed out, still not happy that I’d yet again thrown myself into danger. Fran was standing just behind him watching our exchange.

“No he wouldn’t have,” I agreed with a shrug. “That doesn’t change the fact that it was my protective instinct that put me between Ashe and the arrow, not a conscious choice.”

“You could have just as easily protected her from the _side_ ,” Balthier argued. “What part of your protective instinct requires you to put your _own_ life on the line?”

I turned away to hide my grimace. He was right, I _knew_ he was right; but I had no answer for him. Truthfully, I wasn’t entirely sure why my first instinct was to endanger myself to protect others. “We should return to the moogle,” I murmured softly. “Maybe he knows where that Urutan is that asked for help.”

“A sound decision,” Basch agreed, taking the lead.

“So that’s it then?” Balthier asked me. “We’re just not going to talk about you _unnecessarily_ risking your life? _Again?_ ”

My hands clenched into fists at my sides. Before I could stop myself I was whirling to face him.

“I don’t know what you want me to say, Balthier. I’m sorry? Because I’m _not_. As much as I’m _loath_ to admit it, Ashe is important to this story!” His eyes narrowed at the implications of my words and Fran crossed her arms, frowning, but I barreled on. “She is the queen of Dalmasca whether people recognize her title or not! This entire thing is basically about _her_! About her reclaiming her throne and her kingdom and defeating the empire! _She_ is the one who belo-”

“ _Do not_ say she belongs here and you don’t,” Balthier cut me off with a growl. “I already told you; if you didn’t belong here, you wouldn’t be here.”

Just like the first time, his argument took the wind from my sails. I felt my words die in my throat and I let my gaze fall to the sand beneath my feet.

“You say Ashe is important to this story like you’re not _just_ as important,” he continued, and my heart constricted.

_‘Would he still think I belong if he knew the truth? That this is all a fictional narrative in a video game in my world? A fictional narrative that was written without me in it?’_

_‘You’re here in this version of the Final Fantasy universe, though. Aren’t you the one who thinks that every person has a purpose? A reason for existing? What if your reason for being here isn’t just to die protecting them. What if the reason you’re here is to_ **_help_ ** _them?’_

 _‘Protecting them_ **_is_ ** _helping them… isn’t it?’_

“I wasn’t born in this universe, Sparrow,” I whispered, turning away again to follow Basch. He had stopped to wait for Balthier and I to finish our argument, the others watching us warily, but when he saw I was ready he continued down the path back to the boardwalk to return to the moogle. “How could I be important to a story I wasn’t supposed to be a part of in the first place?”

A tense silence fell over us all as we made our way back to the moogle, Balthier not speaking even as he crossed the boardwalk at my side. My head hung low as I caught my lip between my teeth and stared at the ground. I could understand why he was upset with me for throwing myself into danger again. Hell, I could even understand why he didn’t like my implications that I wasn’t important. I could understand. That didn’t mean that it didn’t hurt to know he was angry with me.

As soon as we made it to the shore on the other side my arms came up across my stomach so I could hold onto my elbows. As much as being next to him helped to calm my unease from the sandsea and the bridges and the hunting party the day before, I stepped away to give Balthier his space back. I didn’t exactly want to be around anyone right then, so I ended up managing to lag behind the rest of the group by a couple feet.

I was still chewing on my bottom lip when the others stopped in front of the moogle. I loitered a couple feet away at the edge of the sea to stare down at the strange sand. I was just close enough to hear the moogle tell us that the Urutan who had asked for help had gone to the Ogir-Yensa. I turned away from the sea when I heard the other’s footsteps, following them to look for the Urutan.

“He’s only worried about you, you know.” I looked up from the ground to see Fran walking alongside me, speaking softly so the others wouldn’t hear our conversation. “We all are.”

“But why?” I asked softly. “Why would any of you be worried about me? I’m just… an outsider. Everything I know about this world is either from what I Saw before I woke up here, or from books I read after I adapted to life in Rabanastre. I don’t-”

“You do belong,” Fran said, gently cutting me off. “You may not be a part of the Mist, but you have the power to wield it. That alone tells me that you belong in this world. As for why we would worry about you…” She stopped at the base of the ramp leading up onto the walkways over the sea and put a hand on my shoulder to turn me towards her. “You are our friend. You’ve said so yourself. Why would we _not_ worry about our friend when, for whatever reason, she seems to believe her life is worth less than ours?”

My lips parted in surprise as Fran let me go and turned to head up the ramp and join the others on the first landing, leaving me with one last thing to think about.

“We don’t want you to be our protector; we can protect ourselves. We want you to live. We want you to stand with us against whatever might lay ahead.”

My feet were frozen as I stared after her, my mind suddenly racing through everything that she and Balthier had said.

_‘To… stand with them…’_

_‘They want you to help them, not protect them.’_

“Is everything alright?” Basch’s voice drew me from my thoughts and I looked up at him and the others, noticing that Fran and Balthier had stayed on the landing and were whispering back and forth. I pressed my lips together and nodded silently. “We caught sight of the Urutan-Yensa heading back toward the Nam-Yensa. We will follow.”

I stepped to the side and gestured for him to lead the way. Balthier and Fran finished their conversation and caught up to the others as they walked past me. Instead of letting me lag behind the group, Balthier’s hand came out to gently push me into walking next to him. I stared at the ground in front of my feet, letting my hair fall over my shoulder to hide my face.

_‘He’s worried about me…’_

The shade of the path between the cliffs fell over us as I worried over what I should say to Balthier. I’m sorry? I still wasn’t sorry for following my instinct, but I was sorry that people were worried about me. I was sorry that he was right; that for some reason my protective instinct didn’t extend to myself when my friends were in danger. I was sorry that somehow I’d ended up being so self-sacrificing.

Basch came to a stop as the path opened to where the moogle had been and the rest of us slowed to stand next to him. There was a gathering of Urutan facing another Urutan that seemed to be their… queen? The sight pulled me from my contemplation for a moment and I watched in curiosity. The moogle told us it was a rare occurrence which left me wondering why it would be happening now of all times. It didn’t seem very celebratory, so I didn’t think it had anything to do with the adamantoise being dead.

In fact, the longer I watched, I began to realize that one of the Urutan seemed to be arguing with the queen. The moogle was listening to the Urutan ruler, but it seemed like he was the only one of us who could understand what was being said.

“Oh,” I breathed. The Urutan seemed very… XIV beast tribe-like. Suddenly, I realized the direction this was heading. “Oh, this isn’t a good thing.”

“What’s not a good thing, kupo? ...Kupo-po?!” It seemed the queen had gotten to the heart of the matter. “Wait, what’s happening, kupo?!”

“What’s going on?” Vaan asked me in a low voice. “Are they going to give us a reward for killing the adamantoise?”

I shook my head.

“Wait! No!” The moogle cried.

“They’re going to execute him,” the moogle and I chorused, though my voice was resigned and the moogle was panicked. I watched on grimly as the moogle ran forward.

“How did you know?” Ashe asked me, seeming almost curious. I turned my head to meet her eyes, my lips pressed together tightly.

“Let’s just say I know a little bit about beast-tribes,” I muttered. “He asked for outside help. Thanks to what I know of Eorzea, I know that one thing most beast-tribes won’t tolerate is when someone of their ranks goes to outsiders for aid with an internal problem. Not to mention, the moogle already told us that the Urutan-Yensa never ask for help from outsiders.”

“So they’ll kill him?!” Penelo cried, grabbing hold of my wrist. I looked back to the Urutan and nodded once.

“Yep. Even if we stepped in now, they’d just hunt him down and kill him anyway,” I explained as I watched the moogle plead with the queen. “Some beast-tribes, especially the ones like this one, have a tendency to be willing to risk annihilation if the alternative means seeking outside help. They’ll kill any member of the tribe who breaks that law.”

“But why?” Penelo asked.

“Because they believe that if they show weakness to outsiders… that the outsiders will, in turn, either believe that the tribe is weak enough to not be a threat, or use that weakness against them to take over their lands. If not both,” I told her solemnly, watching as the Urutan who had asked for help burst into embers and dust that were blown away on the wind.

The moogle was still talking to the ruler while the rest of us watched on in solemn silence. The Urutan queen scurried forward, past the moogle and through her tribesmen. As the Urutan scurried past us, returning to the Ogir-Yensa, I glanced back over to Ashe.

“Y’know, suddenly, you don’t seem like such a terrible ruler,” I told her, a small smirk forming on my lips. “I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t kill one of your subjects for trying to save the kingdom. I mean- I could be wrong-”

“You’re not,” she cut me off as the last of the Urutan passed us, frowning back at me. “I would never be so ruthless and terrible a queen.”

I hummed thoughtfully, my smirk softening into a small smile as we approached the moogle. “I certainly hope so, Princess. I certainly hope so.”

“That rogue Urutan… he wouldn’t have been happy back with his clan, I’m sure of it, kupo.” The moogle told us. Then his attention shifted to something and I turned my head to see a flower in the sand. One that hadn’t been there before. I slowly approached it, lowering myself down onto one knee in front of it while the moogle spoke.

“That flower… it’s rare to see one blooming in the sandsea, kupo. Maybe the treasure that he found… was this?”

It had two blooms, both with only two light purple petals on either side of… what looked like berries? I reached out, leaving my fingers to hover hesitantly just above the petals. They looked so soft. Basch knelt down next to me and took the berries from the flowers, careful not to damage the plant. I reluctantly pulled my hand away from the strange flower and stood, looking to Basch.

“I suppose this means that we’re not going to be given safe passage across the Nam-Yensa,” I said with a tired sigh.

“I would think not,” he agreed. “No matter; we must still cross, safe passage or no.”

“I know, I know,” I muttered, following him through the tunnel in the cliff that would take us to the area we’d defeated the adamantoise in. “It just would’ve been nice to have one less thing to worry about on the way over. Or back.”

“Everything will be just fine,” Balthier said, walking next to me. He looked over and smirked. “Even if we have to handcuff you to one of us to keep you out of trouble.”

I grinned up at him.

“Handcuffs, huh? I could think of worse ways to spend my time.”

“Wait, what?” Vaan said suddenly. “Why would you want to be handcuffed.” My grin melted to a smirk as I replied, not breaking eye contact with Balthier.

“I’ll tell you when you’re older, Kid.”

Balthier chuckled and shook his head, finally looking away to watch where we were walking. I tilted my head to hide behind my hair, smiling at the feeling of his hand resting lightly on my back again.

I still felt like I should say something to him… apologize, or something, but I wasn’t sure how to begin or what to say. A simple “I’m sorry” wouldn’t be clear enough. I didn’t want him to think I was apologizing for protecting Ashe, I wanted them all to know that I was apologizing for worrying them. For being reckless and self-sacrificing.

With a soft sigh I decided it could wait. We still had an entire sandsea to cross; something that would take at _least_ a day, if not two now that we weren’t running from an Urutan hunting party. Maybe I’d try to approach the topic when we stopped for the night.


	22. Important Discussions Are Had

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy late birthday to greenblanket!! I had intended to post this on your birthday, but I didn't quite make it :/ I hope you like it though!! And I'd say I hope this year is good to you, but so far it's not being good to any of us, so let's just "hold on to something sturdy and hope for the best," to quote Era. ^-^ I'm glad I've got you as a friend, and I love you to pieces! <3

The rest of the day was filled with sparse but easy conversation between sporadic scuffles with any Urutan-Yensa we came across. Thankfully for me, the Nam-Yensa Sandsea was not strictly traversed by bridges over the sand, as the Ogir-Yensa had been. There were bridges, yes, and sometimes they were unavoidable too, but for the most part we were able to stick to the solid ground at the shoreline.

At one point during our journey through the Nam-Yensa, we came across a type of actual monster. It made me think of a monster from something like _Silent Hill;_ a bulky, humanoid body with sparsely feathered wings for arms and metal spikes protruding haphazardly from its head and “arms”.

“What. The fuck. Is that,” I hissed, scowling at the thing and its friend behind it. “And when the hell did I leave Ivalice and wind up in fucking Centralia, Pennsylvania. I swear to your gods if we find some bitch named ‘Gillespie’, I’mma _cut_ and run. _Literally_.”

“Where?” Vaan asked me, letting Basch, Vossler, and Ashe fight the nightmare creatures.

“Who?” Penelo followed a second later.

“Centralia, Pennsylvania. It’s an old mining town back home,” I explained, crossing my arms and glaring at the two additional bird-horrors that had taken notice of their brethren getting their asses handed to them. I reached out and took hold of an earthen handle that materialized from the Mist, stalking forward to engage the newcomers while the princess and her guards finished off their two enemies.

“A mining town?” I heard Penelo ask curiously.

“Mm,” I hummed, raising the miniature Rhitta in my hand above my head to bring it swinging down at the monster closest to me. “The coal mines beneath the town caught fire sixty-ish years ago in May of 1960-something- I only remember the month because my friend was born in May and she thought Centralia’s story was really cool. As far as I’m aware the fires were still burning when I world-hopped.”

“They burned for _sixty years_?!” Vaan asked incredulously as he slashed at my target as well.

“Yep. It’s theorized that thanks to the oxygen flow from the mineshaft vents that lead to the surface, the fires may _never_ truly go out,” I said, switching Rhitta out for Death’s scythe, The Harvester. I twirled to slice at one of the monster’s wings. “The town ended up being the possible basis for a novel that inspired a series of horror movies. Every now and then plumes of poisonous vapors and smoke from the fires rise out of manholes, sinkholes, any path to the surface it can find that isn’t supplying oxygen, and since the town is uninhabitable due to those vapors it gives the town a very creepy, apocalyptic atmosphere.”

“Okay, that...makes sense, I guess. But why do these enemies make you think of this mining town from your world?” I smiled over at Vaan as our enemy fell and we turned our attention to the second bird thing. The air magic forming The Harvester shimmered and vanished, reappearing as water to take the form of Frostmourne as I lunged forward.

“That would be because of the novel and the horror movies I mentioned. They gave a ‘corrupted magic’ twist to the ‘eternal fires burning under a mining town’ concept and, in addition to the poisonous fumes and toxic vapors, threw in disturbing and grotesque monsters to prowl the deserted streets of the town.” From this close to the creature, I could see that its metal-spiked head seemed to have no eyes and I shuddered, my mind flashing momentarily to Pyramid Head.

“Disturbing and grotesque? How?” Penelo asked softly, sounding worried. I glanced over to see her eyebrows furrowed slightly. I grunted, slicing Frostmourne across the chest of the creature.

“In _Silent Hill_ -that’s the name of the town in the novel and also in the movies- a thick fog would roll into town, dropping visibility to like… _maybe_ five feet, and then creatures in straightjackets would stumble through the fog searching for any human foolish enough to enter the town.” The bird thing fell to the ground, dead, and Frostmourne burst apart into sparkling water droplets as I turned to ruffle Penelo’s hair with a smile. “But don’t worry, none of that was real.”

“Who’s… Gillespie?” Vaan asked. “You never answered that part.”

“Oh!” I laughed slightly, reaching up to scratch the back of my head. “Dahlia Gillespie. She’s the antagonist in the story and, if I’m remembering right, her daughter Alessa is the source of the ‘corrupted magic’ twist. Alessa was a patient in the Silent Hill Psychiatric Hospital and all of the monsters are actually manifestations of her nightmares and fears. The straightjacket monsters represent the other patients, there were faceless nurse monsters which were self explanatory, and of course the most iconic monster in Silent Hill: Pyramid Head. I’m pretty sure I read somewhere that he was supposed to represent the orderlies and guards of the hospital, but I could be mistaken about that one.”

“ _What_ are you talking about?” Basch sighed, leading us farther into the Nam-Yensa. I grinned at him and raised my hand, palm up, in front of me, manipulating the Mist like I had the night before to make the replica of Earth. Only this time, an exact model of Pyramid Head took shape above my palm.

“Pyramid Head. An iconic monster, and quite possibly my favorite even though the entire series completely terrifies me.” An idea began to form and I let the model above my hand crumble as I stopped walking. “I wonder…”

“Wonder what,” Ashe asked me warily.

 _‘You’re not gonna-’_ my inner voice cut off with a sigh. _‘Of course you are.’_

Instead of answering Ashe, I twirled my hands in the air in front of me, swirling them to direct the flow of the Mist. Slowly, a life-sized earthen Pyramid Head rose from the sand, giant sword and all.

“This fucking nightmare,” I said with a satisfied smile, “is what Pyramid Head looked like in the movie.”

“He’s huge!” Vaan cried, circling it cautiously with wide eyes.

“Indeed,” I agreed, watching the others inspect the figure. “He was basically the jailer, hunting down all the nasties and either killing them or dragging them back into the burning mines. Only he didn’t discriminate; if it was out in the fog, it was prey to hunt down and drag back. Monster, animal, human- didn’t matter.”

“Creepy,” Penelo breathed from next to me. With a wave of my hand, Pyramid Head crumbled away and I nodded to Basch to continue on.

“Yeah, that whole story was creepy as hell,” I agreed, slinging an arm around her and using my other hand to point at yet another bird monster. “Much like _those_. Which is why I said if we find someone named Gillespie, I’mma cut and run.”

“I believe that’s an understandable reaction,” I heard Balthier mutter, drawing another smile from me as he took a shot at the bird monster.

We kept progressing, the sun sinking lower and lower in the sky. When we came upon a cavern system I stopped walking, peering curiously into the cave.

“Yo, Cap!” I called ahead, glancing from the cave to the setting sun, then to Basch. “It’s getting late. You think we should settle for the night?”

He thought for a moment before nodding. “That would most likely be for the best. It has been a long day and I believe more than one of our number has matters they need to think on. We can set up camp in the mouth of this cave.”

I winced slightly, knowing he was referring at least in part to me.

“I’ll get started on the fire,” Vaan volunteered. Penelo volunteered to use some things dropped by the Urutan or gathered from plants she had spotted to make dinner, leaving the rest of us to set up our respective sleeping areas. I set up two additional spots on either side of the one I had made for myself, one for Penelo and one for Vaan. Once that was done I wandered out into the night air outside the cavern entrance.

“If you didn’t belong here, you wouldn’t be here…” I murmured quietly, crossing my arms and tilting my head back to stare at the unfamiliar stars spilled across the sky. “An interesting concept to consider.”

_‘I almost wish I could talk to Vayne about this… Surely to God he would have some sort of useful input.’_

_‘Maybe so, but there’s no telling when the hell we’re gonna see him again. Not every Final Fantasy was like X where the antagonist was like “Here, lemme help you past these obstacles in your way and converse with you multiple times.” In fact, out of the ones we played I can’t think of a single one-’_

_‘Ardyn.’_

_‘Aight, fair point. But still, Vayne doesn’t strike me as the type that’s like “Yeah, lemme just- Alright here you go, free passage. Would you also like some therapy? Maybe some advice? Or some philosophy? Oh by the way I’m going to kill you all.”’_

A soft voice calling my name pulled me from my thoughts and I turned my head to see Vaan standing just inside the cave, looking like he was debating whether or not to come stand with me. I waved him forward, returning my gaze to the sky as he came to a stop next to me.

“Penelo said dinner is almost finished, she told me to come let you know.” His voice was soft, and I could feel him watching me carefully. “Are you… okay? You haven’t really seemed like yourself since… Nalbina…”

I hummed quietly. “I think… I think escaping from Nalbina…might have messed me up a little, Kid,” I finally whispered. “I killed people. Actual people. And since then I’ve only added to that body count.”

“But you only killed them to get us out safely! You said so yourself!” Vaan argued. “Besides, they were Imperials! It was practically self defense.”

“There is nothing ‘self-defense’ about assassination, Little Brother,” I shot back. “Which is exactly what I did to those soldiers beneath Nalbina. I assassinated them. Cold, ruthless, calculating. And since then… it’s like I haven’t been able to get my moral compass facing north again. It’s always...skewed. Slightly off-center no matter which direction I’m facing.”

“What do you mean?” He asked, confusion lacing his voice.

“I mean that...on some level…” I trailed off and scrubbed a hand over my face, my shoulders curling inwards as my head tipped down. When I spoke again it was barely loud enough to be heard. “On some level, I think I _wanted_ to kill the Judges on the airship. _Enjoyed_ it. Probably would have killed Ghis too, if Vossler hadn’t shown up when he did.”

Vaan said my name in a soft tone, and I lifted my face from my hand enough to glance over at him. He was watching me sadly. “I don’t think that’s-”

“Do you agree with Balthier?” I asked suddenly, cutting off whatever he might have been trying to say to comfort me. He blinked at me a few times, so I elaborated. “About what he said this morning. ‘If you didn’t belong here, you wouldn’t be here.’” He stayed silent, thinking it over, and I turned to look out toward the sand sea at the bottom of the hill. After a few long moments he responded.

“I do. You’ve gotta be here for a reason. A reason more than just dying to keep one of us safe. The gods have to have a plan for you.”

I winced slightly, my mind flashing briefly to the image of Regis killing Noctis. Only, next to Noctis was a girl’s form, blurred since I didn’t know what Abby actually looked like. My lips pressed into a thin line as I pushed the image away.

“A divine plan isn’t always a comfort, Little Brother,” I murmured, the words too soft for him to hear.

“Here you are!” Penelo said from behind us. She looked at Vaan. “I told you to come get her, not hide out here with her! My cooking isn’t _that_ bad!”

I chuckled softly, turning back to the cave and slinging an arm around Vaan’s shoulders to drag him along with me. “We know, Penni. I’m sorry we kept you waiting, I just had a question for Vaan.”

“Oh?” She perked up slightly as I reached her and slung my other arm around her shoulders too, planting a small kiss on the top of her head. “What question?”

“I wanted to know if he had a favorite constellation,” I lied easily, glancing over to Vaan.

“Y-yeah. I told her I had always been partial to the constellation for the thief,” he said, following my lead. I smirked at the choice; of course the pickpocket and aspiring sky pirate would favor the thief constellation.

“Oh! Yeah, Vaan’s always really liked that one,” Penelo agreed.

“An appropriate choice for a future sky pirate,” I commented lightly as we approached the campfire, letting them go so that we could get some food. I sniffed the meat skewer delicately.

“What’s an appropriate choice?” Balthier asked, mild interest showing in his tone.

“His favorite constellation,” I replied distractedly. “It’s the thief. What’s this meat?”

“From the adamantoise,” Basch told me. I blinked a few times before cracking a grin.

“Sweet! I’ve always wanted to try adamantoise meat!”

“Always?” That had piqued Basch’s curiosity. I took a quick, silent breath, realizing my slip, my smile becoming slightly strained as I took a seat.

“Yeah, the adamantoise on Eorzea sounded delicious. I never thought about there being adamantoise here until yesterday.” I took a bite of the meat, chewing slowly.

_‘You really should be more careful. What are you gonna tell them when they finally get tired of your vague answers and casual redirections?’_

_‘The only thing I really_ **_can_ ** _do. Give them a halfway believable reason without telling them everything.’_

“Where are you _from_?” Vossler finally demanded. My gaze swiveled from the fire to him and my eyebrows furrowed for a moment before I felt my lips twitch into a small smirk. I pointed a single finger over my shoulder without looking.

“That way.”

Balthier chuckled off to my left, and I heard Vaan and Penelo both sigh.

“What?” Vossler asked. “‘ _T_ _hat way_ ’? How does that even make any sense!” I shrugged, taking another bite of my meat and looking back at the fire, letting silence fall instead of responding.

Once I finished my dinner I tossed the skewer, just a stick they’d found lying around I guessed, on the ground and stood.

“Where are you going?” Penelo asked me. I ruffled her hair softly as I walked past her.

“To look at the stars and contemplate my existence,” I said. “Dinner was lovely, thank you Penni.”

I stepped out of the cave and tilted my face to the stars as I thought over everything that had happened lately. I sank into my mind palace, keeping my eyes open so I would maintain at least some awareness of my surroundings.

_‘When the Urutan hunting party showed up yesterday our panic did something to the Mist.’_

_‘I know. I felt it, I just couldn’t focus enough to figure out what it was…’_

_‘So what are we doing?’_

_‘...Hit me with an emotional crisis.’_

_‘I’m sorry- what?’_

_‘You heard me. Let’s intentionally trigger an episode.’_

_‘Why on Earth would we do that?!’_

_‘It’s the quickest way to find out what the Mist was doing.’_

_‘...I hate it when you’re right.’_

_‘I’m aware, now do it.’_

_‘Alright, just don’t hate me for this.’_ My next thought had a completely different tone to it. Menacing- hateful even.

 _‘They’re all going to leave you eventually.’_ My breath hitched, knowing exactly where this was about to go and regretting my need for answers in regards to the Mist. Suddenly I got a crystal clear image of Vincent, turning and walking away from me without so much as a wave.

 _‘Even your own_ **_brothers_ ** _got tired of you eventually.’_

Vincent’s retreating form was slowly joined by the godbrothers I had briefly mentioned when I was telling Balthier about my family. Michail, Stephan, Tomas, James, and Scott appeared on either side of Vincent and I took a sharp breath. My eyes began to water as I felt my heart rate increase.

_‘These people will be no different; they all leave you eventually. You think Balthier will put up with your self-sacrificing forever? And when Balthier leaves, so will Fran.’_

The two sky pirates joined my brother’s figures and I felt the Mist shift slightly.

_‘Ashe will never actually like you, and when she leaves she’ll take Basch with her.’_

Their forms joined the others as well, the Mist reacting even more strongly. It swirled around me, though I still couldn’t see any visible effect.

_‘And when Penelo and Vaan realize exactly how demented you really are, when they realize what you’ve turned into, they won’t be able to get away from you fast enough.’_

The images of my newest siblings joining the others was like a punch to the gut.

“They’re all going to leave…” I whispered to myself. “People always leave. Why did I think they wouldn’t…?” The Mist was fluctuating in response to my self-inflicted despair. I bent over to pick up a rock off the ground, letting it rest on my palm. I forced the fluctuating Mist to cover the rock, hoping to see what might be happening.

_‘Oh holy f-’_

“Vaan says you are still feeling guilty over the deaths of those Imperials.”

I jumped slightly, dropping the rock and leashing the Mist before glancing over at Basch out of the corner of my eye as he came to a stop next to me, then looking to the stars. “You really are Ivalice’s Steve Rogers,” I murmured softly, thinking of a gif panel I had seen at one point saying that people in the MCU couldn’t sit on their bed sadly, otherwise Steve would magically appear in the doorway with puppy eyes and a soft pep-talk or something along those lines.

“He was worried about you because he was unable to ease your guilt in the matter.”

“I’m… fine, Cap. No need to bother with me,” I said softly, trying to push away the emotional stress I’d intentionally caused myself.

“I beg to differ,” he said, placing a hand on my shoulder. “Vaan told me you said your moral compass seems skewed.”

“Vaan and his big mouth,” I muttered. Basch chuckled softly.

“Perhaps, however I would like to take the opportunity to reassure you. Your moral compass is fine.”

“How do you know that, Cap?” I asked him, turning away from the stars to face Basch instead. “I killed those Judges with no hesitation. I would have killed Ghis too.”

“Perhaps that is true,” Basch said, nodding. His hand tightened on my shoulder. “But you did what you did because there was no other option. If there had been another option, we all know you would have taken it. The fact that you still feel guilt over their deaths is a clear sign that your moral compass is still firmly pointing north, my friend.”

“But-!” Basch cut me off, saying my name softly.

“There is no ‘but’. You made the correct decisions, difficult though they may be to reconcile now. You must not let your guilt weigh you down or hold you back now that those decisions are in the past.” My lips parted in silent shock.

 _‘He’s right, you know.’_ My inner voice sounded the same as always, no trace of malice left now that I was fairly certain of the effect my emotions were having on the Mist. _‘You can’t let yourself drown in your guilt. There’s nothing that can be done to change the decisions we made or bring back the people we killed. Feel remorse, feel sadness, but keep moving forward.’_

“I- Thanks… Cap,” I whispered finally, looking down at the sand beneath our feet. “I think... I really needed to hear that.”

His hand tightened again before letting go of my shoulder entirely. “Of course,” he said softly. “I am glad to be of service. Will you be joining us in the cave?”

“In a bit…” I said, looking back to the sandsea. “There’s… something I need to figure out.”

“Will you be alright alone or would you like someone to stay with you?”

I smiled over at him, keeping my eyes on the sand. “I think I’ll be alright now.”

As Basch walked away I stooped to pick the rock up again and examined it. Then I fed a steady stream of Mist towards it, furrowing my brows in concentration as I tried to replicate the effect without feeling the same things. As much as I wanted answers, I wasn’t about to intentionally undo the field dressing Basch had managed to slap over the hemorrhaging wound that was my conscience.

I grit my teeth together and concentrated harder. It took a few moments, but slowly the Mist followed my direction. The rock hovered an inch above my palm, wavering slightly up and down as I fought to keep the effect active.

“ _Anti-gravity_ ,” I whispered, entranced by the rock. “Of _course_ it would be anti-gravity, it only makes sense; if I can make things _heavier_ then it stands to reason I could make them _lighter_ too…”

 _‘The_ **_possibilities_ ** _.’_

_‘Indeed…’_

“Songbird?” Balthier’s voice broke my concentration and the rock dropped into my palm. I whirled to look at him, sudden exhaustion crashing over me.

“Yes, Sparrow?” Even my voice sounded tired.

“We should be getting to sleep,” Balthier told me gently. “Princess Ashe would like to leave early tomorrow.”

I scuffed my boot across the sand, looking to the side. “Yeah, I’m… actually really tired. Sleep sounds good.”

I followed Balthier silently back into the cave, curling up on the ground between Penelo and Vaan. The sudden exhaustion was an interesting effect but, before I could really contemplate it any more, I was sound asleep.

* * *

I woke briefly the next morning with Penelo curled into my chest and a warm pressure on my back as well. Looking over my shoulder, careful not to disturb Penelo, I saw Vaan sound asleep with his back pressed firmly against mine. If they weren’t awake then there was no reason for me to be awake yet either. With a small smile I let my muscles relax again and went back to sleep.

A while later I woke again, only this time Penelo was shaking my shoulder gently.

“C’mon, I made some breakfast. It’s time to wake up.”

I groaned and weakly swatted her hand away, rolling over. Penelo sighed softly and I heard a chuckle from off to my left.

“Songbird, I believe the princess is on the verge of dragging you up off the ground.”

“Let ‘er,” I mumbled. “I’ll drown ‘er.” That drew another chuckle and another sigh. There was some shuffling, then I was lifted off the ground and, after a few steps, set on my feet. I blinked sleepily at my surroundings; Balthier was standing next to me, holding my shoulders to steady me, and he had set me down in front of the fire which was burning again.

“I know we had it for dinner last night, but the adamantoise meat is really the only food we’ve gotten our hands on so far,” Penelo said, handing me a skewer. I ruffled her hair and took a bite.

“‘S alright, Penni,” I mumbled, swallowing. “I’m not much for breakfast foods anyway. Half the time I’d rather have leftovers from dinner than anything else.”

“And what about the other half of the time?” Balthier asked with a smirk, letting me go to cross his arms now that he was sure I was awake enough to stand.

“Bacon,” I replied, taking another bite. “The other half of the time is bacon.”

“What does that even mean?” Ashe asked. I shrugged.

“I dunno, I’m still half asleep.”

“But you’re standing! Eating! Talking!” She cried.

“I know. Neat trick, huh,” I grinned over at her before finishing off the rest of my food. “Alright, I guess if everyone else is ready, let’s get this over with.”

“They were waiting on you to wake up,” Vaan informed me with a nudge as we exited the cave into the blinding desert sun. I groaned and reached out to put a hand over his face to push him away.

“Shush.”

The next section of the Nam Yensa was taken much like the first section had been in that we avoided the bridges as much as possible, fighting our way through the bird-monsters and Urutan that were in our way. Once we made it to another cavern, this time with a merchant next to it, I pulled the Nam-Yensa map out to examine it once more while the others checked the merchant’s wares.

“Well? What are we to expect going forward?” Basch asked me. I looked up from the map and pursed my lips.

“Hell if I know. This is the end of the Nam Yensa map.” I handed it to him so he could see for himself. “Though if I _had_ to guess, I’d say we’re in for at _least_ another day of travel through those caverns.” I pointed at the entrance near the merchants.

“What makes you say that?” Basch seemed genuinely curious as to what had brought me to that conclusion and I shrugged easily.

“A gut feeling mixed with something Ashe said when she convinced Balthier to steal her. ‘The Dynast-King’s Treasure’. Something like that… If all it took to get to Raithwall’s tomb- regardless of the traps that are guaranteed to be set up inside the tomb- if all it took to get to the tomb was a two day trek through rough desert, looters would be extremely common,” I explained. “That looters _aren’t_ common, and I assume they’re not since I hadn’t heard anything about a tomb or a treasure at all in my time in Rabanastre, tells me that it’s much farther out of the way than just ‘it’s on the other side of the sandsea’.”

“A clever deduction,” Basch said, crossing his arms. “I am inclined to agree with you.”

“Well, you’re the guide for this trip,” I said softly. “So I’ll let you decide what our next move is. We’ve still got a few hours of daylight, but I have a suspicion that that won’t matter all that much once we enter those caverns.”

“We rest for a few moments before venturing into the caves,” Basch decided. I nodded slowly, turning away from the cave to sit in one of the sporadic grass patches in the shade of the cliff faces.

“Alright then.”

I heard Basch’s retreating footsteps through the sand and picked up a rock from the ground next to me to stare at it intently.

_‘Anti-gravity…’_

_‘If we can get it under control we could do so much with an ability like that.’_

_‘It would certainly be useful. To make it a serious ability I’ll more than likely have to practice controlling both aspects without emotional assistance.’_

I took a slow breath, focusing on the rock in my hand and willing the Mist to make it heavier without being angry. After a few moments it worked, my hand was starting to be weighed down by the walnut sized rock. I returned the gravity of the rock to normal and tried to do it again. It didn’t take quite as long this time to weigh the rock down; I was starting to get a feel for how to control gravity without being angry, but I had a feeling the other aspect was going to be another matter.

“What are you doing over here, Songbird?”

I kept my focus on the rock, continuing to weigh it down as I responded.

“Well, I said back in the Marquis’ estate that I wanted to practice with my gravity manipulation ability,” I said distractedly. “I figured now was as good a time as any to start working on my control.”

“Any luck?”

I sighed and dropped the rock back onto the ground, turning to smile up at Balthier.

“Yeah, I’m getting there. Here, help me up.” I reached my hand up as I spoke, ignoring the single beat my heart skipped when his hand wrapped around mine to pull me upright. “We’ve still got some time, right?”

“I believe so,” he replied, watching me closely. “Why?”

I let my gaze drop to the ground. “I… I wanted to talk to you.”

“Oh?” He sounded interested and I pressed my lips tightly together before forcing myself to look up again.

“Yeah. I thought that maybe…” My eyes darted away for a moment as I thought of a way to keep him there while I figured out what to say. “Maybe you could teach me how to shoot? Just… in case I ever run into a situation where I would need to use a gun.”

“What about your magic?” He asked, pulling my eyes back to him.

“Well, I mean my Outlier magic is strong, but there’s a reason I haven’t left my sword and dagger behind. You never know when magic might not be an option,” I explained. “Something could be resistant to it, or there could be a place where magic doesn’t work for whatever reason- like how you can’t fly the airship over the sandsea.”

“Alright then, here. It’s not hard,” he told me, handing me his gun. It was heavy- heavier than it looked, for sure, but I’d held my dad’s gun once so it wasn’t _that_ much of a surprise. “Hold it in one hand-” he stood behind me to adjust my stance and square my shoulders. “Aim at your target. Then pull the trigger.” I turned my head and raised an eyebrow at him. “Just be sure to brace yourself for the recoil.”

“And… _Everyone_ in this world shoots this way? Point-Brace-Pull?” I asked suspiciously. He nodded and I let out a small hum. I had never _actually_ fired a gun before, but my dad had made sure I at least knew the basics before he died. He wanted me to be able to use a gun without hurting myself if the need ever arose.

“No wonder I thought these guns have the accuracy of Civil War muskets,” I murmured, looking back at the gun in my hands. It wasn’t quite long enough to be a rifle; it was closer to the length of a sawed-off shotgun, but it _wasn’t_ a shotgun. I looked up across the sand and flicked my free hand up to create three thin earthen discs that hovered in the air about twenty feet away.

“Targets?” When I nodded once, Balthier hummed. “They’re a little far away, and rather small- I’m not sure you’ll be able to hit them from that distance.”

I brought them closer to appease him, then followed his directions and aimed at the first target.

“Balthier?”

“Yes?” His voice was tinged with curiosity and I could feel him watching me, looking at the side of my face. I tightened my grip on the gun and pulled the trigger. There was a loud _‘crack’_ sound, and the recoil made me stumble back into Balthier’s chest. He chuckled softly while my eyes were locked on the unbroken target.

“I told you to brace yourself,” he said gently, his hands tightening on my shoulders ever so slightly.

“I’m sorry.”

“There’s no need to apologize, Songbird,” he said. “Just try again.”

I stepped forward, sliding my feet shoulder width apart with my dominant side angled to brace against the recoil more effectively.

“No, I mean… I’m sorry for… being reckless,” I said softly, aiming at the target again. “I’m sorry that I let this self-sacrificing side of myself… get so out of control.”

This time, instead of _pulling_ the trigger, as Balthier had said, I followed the basics my dad had told me and slowly squeezed the trigger. The recoil still pushed me backward a little, but this time the target shattered. I turned my head to smile up at Balthier, who was staring down at me in what looked like surprise. My smile fell a little bit.

“I’m sorry that, for whatever reason, my instinct to protect the people I care about somehow morphed into some kind of fucked up martyr complex,” I whispered sadly. “I’m… not sorry that my actions kept you or the others safe, but… I _am_ sorry that I worried all of you. I’ll try to be… more careful… from now on.”

His hand came up to softly brush his knuckles along my jaw as he whispered my name. After a moment I broke away from his gaze to look at the ground, flicking my wrist to let the other targets crumble away.

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” I told him, handing his gun back. “Although I wasn’t lying, I did want to be able to use a gun if I ever needed to.”

I heard my name, followed by Balthier’s and looked up to see Vaan waving at us from next to the merchants.

“We’re going into the caves now!” He called out. I sighed softly.

“Looks like it’s time to go.” I took one last look at the sky before turning to follow the others into the caverns that would presumably take us to the Tomb of Raithwall.


	23. Pyramid of Doom

I had been right when I assumed that the caverns would take a while to get through. There were a few Speartongues, which were a subspecies of Gigantoad if I had to guess, and some green blobs of slime that were related to the Flan species in some way, but for the most part the journey was uneventful. I used the down time to practice more with my control over gravity in both aspects, though I was keeping the reduction side of the power a secret for now. There was no point in bringing it up until I could make it a viable option in battle and, at the moment, it was far from that.

I had been forced to resort to only practicing with the reduction aspect when we stopped to rest; even reducing the gravity of a stone the size of my palm was an issue. As soon as the gravity reduction ended I felt noticeably more tired than I had before I used the power. In addition to that, as soon as the rock left my palm it was difficult to keep it weightless.

In contrast, there was very little effect from making things heavier. Vaan and Balthier had both agreed to let me practice with it on them. Using that aspect without being angry _did_ make me tired, but not to the degree the reduction ability seemed to; this meant that I could practice with it almost constantly instead of only when we stopped to rest. Not only did it make me less tired, but it was far easier to intensify the gravity of things even when I wasn’t in physical contact with them.

As a result, on the morning of the third day, I was fairly confident I had nearly mastered using the multiplication half of my gravity manipulation power without it being fueled by my anger. I intended to move on to more thoroughly practicing with the reduction half, but I had a feeling I would need to go about it in a different way.

_‘Why is reduction so much more difficult than multiplication? And why can I make things heavier without touching them like it’s nothing, but when I try to make something float without physical contact it’s like trying to push a boulder up a hill?’_

_‘I wish I could give you an answer- but since I’m you, I only know what you know.’_

_‘Ugh. That’s_ _so_ _helpful, let me tell ya.’_

“Is everything alright?” Fran’s lilting voice pulled me from my thoughts as we began to see light up ahead from more than just the bioluminescent moss scattered along the walls and the occasional crevice in the ceiling leading to the surface to let in sunlight. Basch, Ashe and Vossler were in the lead, with Penelo and Vaan close behind. Balthier was a few feet behind them and, last I had paid attention, Fran had been too. Now, however, she was walking beside me. My eyes cut away from the dim glow to focus on Fran. “You seem… upset about something.”

“It’s nothing important,” I said, smoothing my expression to give her a small smile instead. “Just puzzling out some questions I have about my magic.”

“Oh?” She seemed intrigued now. “Does this have to do with whatever you’ve been doing when we stop to rest?”

I blinked up at her a few times. “How-”

“You forget that I can sense Mist,” she said, smirking slightly.

_‘Son of a bitch, we did forget that little detail.’_

I dipped my head to look at the ground, chuckling softly.

“Yes, it seems that I did.” After another moment I gave in and started to explain what I had been doing and my thought process. Once I was done I looked back up at her expectantly. “So? What do you think? Can you think of any reason one would be easier than the other? Or why it’s so much harder to release the gravity of an object if I’m not touching it?”

She cocked her head to the side in thought, looking forward toward the light that was growing brighter by the moment. It would seem we were nearly out of the caverns. I frowned; my eyes had grown used to the minimal light in the caverns. I had always been somewhat sensitive to sudden, drastic changes in light before, even back home in my universe, so I already knew that I was going to absolutely _hate_ leaving the caverns.

“When the Urutan-Yensa appeared in the Ogir-Yensa Sandsea you were afraid,” Fran finally said, pulling my attention back to her. I nodded.

“Yeah, and I could tell the Mist was reacting to my fear, but I couldn’t tell what it was actually doing. Why?”

“It was affecting you,” she said softly. “Your hair, and even the bottom of your jacket were starting to float.” My brows furrowed.

“So… _theoretically-_ _”_ I cut myself off and dipped my head to hold my chin as I thought it through.

_‘_ _Theoretically_ _, if it affects you enough to make your hair and clothes weightless…’_

The moment when I leaped into the air from the ramp to attack those first Urutan replayed in my mind in slow motion. The split second that it felt like I was hovering in the air came back.

_‘Then I could potentially…’_

“Make myself weightless…” I breathed, following the train of thought with wide eyes. I looked up at Fran. “Senju, you’re a goddamn _genius_ _,”_ I hissed, an excited grin coming to my face. She flashed a small, extremely brief smile at me before nodding once.

“I am glad I could help you.”

I was practically bouncing now, excited to try it out. Maybe if I practiced using it on myself, I would be able to familiarize myself with the aspect enough that I could begin to use it on objects or even other people. It was about that moment that Fran and I followed the others around a corner and I jerked to a stop, a pained gasp hissing through my teeth as I squeezed my eyes shut. Fran said my name in a questioning tone, and I heard the other’s footsteps slow to a stop.

“Songbird?” Balthier asked.

“I swear to every god in this universe, I’m going to _fight_ the _sun,”_ I said, lowering my face into my hands to block out the light. The end of the cavern was a few yards away, and eye-piercing daylight was streaming into the entrance. I heard two simultaneous sighs and I cleared my throat. “Y’all can leave me,” I bargained hopefully. “I’ll be _just fine_ right here where it’s still somewhat dark.”

Two arms secured around my waist to coax me forward.

“Sorry, you’re not gonna get that lucky,” I heard Vaan say from my right. I groaned into my hands.

“But _Vaaaaaan-”_

“No buts,” Penelo said on my left. “You’re coming with us.”

Another, weaker groan left me. Arguing with Penelo was difficult. Not _impossible,_ but certainly more effort than I felt like putting forth at the moment. My siblings led me forward, the light getting brighter and brighter until I felt the heat of direct sunlight. My hands stayed covering my face, but Vaan and Penelo came to a stop.

“We shall wait for you to acclimate to the sunlight,” Basch said from somewhere in front of me and to the left. I grunted into my hands.

“She says thank you,” Penelo translated for me. I could hear fond humor in her voice and it pulled a smile from me as I nodded.

After a few moments I lowered my hands, keeping my eyes screwed shut and my head down. A few more moments and I started to slowly lift my head, pausing when the light started to hurt again. It was a tedious process, but eventually I was blinking slowly, still having to squint, but able to at least see.

“Have I mentioned I’m going to fight the sun?” I asked, pouting at Vaan. Penelo giggled.

“I think so, yes,” she said. I nodded once.

“Good. Because I’m gonna fight it.”

“And just how do you plan to do that?” Balthier asked. I looked to see his arms crossed and a smirk on his face.

“I dunno, maybe I’ll take a page from Ashe’s book and steal the _Strahl,”_ I quipped. Upon hearing her name, she looked over at me with a raised eyebrow.

“I think that is the first time you’ve spoken of me without a trace of hostility,” she observed. I hummed.

“Well, maybe I’m starting to not completely hate you,” I replied.

“I confess, I fail to understand why you disliked her so strongly before you ever even met her,” Basch said. I pursed my lips and looked away.

“That’s… complicated,” I finally replied.

“We’re listening,” Balthier prompted. I shook my head and looked back at Ashe.

“No, my reasons are a story for another time. For now…” I took a slow breath and licked my lips. “I’m sorry, Ashe. It wasn’t fair of me to hold a grudge against you.”

“I have to agree,” she said, crossing her arms. I narrowed my eyes.

“I _am_ sorry.”

“...Fine. Apology accepted,” she finally said, sniffing delicately and turning away from the cavern toward the crypt looming over us beyond the rows of pillars in what I _assumed_ was what Basch had called The Valley of the Dead when we first arrived in the Ogir-Yensa. “Let’s get going. We’re almost there and we shouldn’t waste any more time.”

Calling this a _valley_ was a bit of a stretch in my opinion; it was pretty much just a man made hole in the otherwise solid rock. It was big enough to fit the entrance to Raithwall’s crypt that rose up out of the ground at the other end of the hole from where the cavern exited into the cleared area.

I followed the others down the steps, looking around curiously at the stone statues along the sides of the “valley” past the columns leading the way to the stairs of the crypt entrance. The pillars and walls had beautiful, intricately styled linework engravings that made me think of ancient temples in the Middle East or Asia.

“Veeery _Temple of Doom_ meets pyramids of Giza,” I murmured softly.

“Have care,” Balthier warned me, staying nearby. “The merchants we spoke to in the Nam-Yensa before entering the cavern told us of a bird that makes its home here in the Valley of the Dead. It’s said to be invincible.”

“Fantastic,” I muttered, glancing around again. “Of course a temple for the dead would have an invincible avian guardian.”

We were just passing the third set of pillars when a glowing _something_ streaked out from behind the temple. I realized as it turned in the air and started to swoop toward us that it was a bird… of sorts. It was bigger than any bird I had ever heard of, with a beautiful cream-to-sunset-pink-and-gold coloring and shiny patterns swirling across its wings, and it looked more _leathery_ than _feathery_ _._ It wasn’t a rough looking leather texture either, it looked like it would be very soft to the touch. Instead of a beak I was pretty sure I saw _teeth,_ and in place of tail feathers it had two long, thin, whip-like tails that flared out at the ends. Oh yeah. And it was _glowing_ _._ Literally glowing; a pretty white light emanated from its chest like it was a fallen star in a kid’s movie or something.

“What the…” I trailed off as I stared at the thing flapping in the air in front of us.

“Don’t tell me you’re scared of this too,” Ashe demanded. I tilted my head, eyes still focused on the bird-thing.

“Mmmm… I wanna pet it.”

“You want to do _what?!”_ Vaan screeched. “What the hell! You want to kill every mostly-harmless walking tomato you stumble across, but _that thing_ you want to _touch?!”_

I shrugged helplessly. “Pretty much, yeah.”

“It is a creature called Garuda,” Basch informed me, causing me to narrow my eyes and suck in a breath.

“Well, shit,” I sighed, placing a hand on Stygian’s hilt and analyzing our options. “She looks different from Eorzea’s Primal. More than likely, she battles differently as well, especially since she won’t be able to temper us with Aether.”

“What are you talking about?!” Ashe cried, everyone scattering as the bird decided to swoop forward in an attack. I clenched my teeth together, taking my hand away from my sword to hold it out toward Garuda. I furrowed my brows in concentration; I could _feel_ the Mist swirling, trying to affect its target, but for some reason the bird seemed unaffected by the increased gravitational field. I dropped my hand and shook my head.

“I can’t ground her,” I called out to the others. “Which means that while she’s in the air, Balthier, Fran and I will be the only ones who can damage her. If she gets low enough for you to take a swipe with your blades, feel free to help out.”

 _‘Now would be a real good time to get scared,’_ I thought to myself, swinging my right arm out to the side to summon a water trident.

 _‘Sorry, but we’re both_ _way_ _too curious about what that thing feels like to be scared.’_

I sighed at myself as I swung my hand forward to direct the trident through the air. _‘Of course we are.’_

Two earthen kunai materialized in my hands and I flung them one right after the other. All three projectiles bounced harmlessly off the bird and dissipated, and I furrowed my brows.

_‘Invincible bird.’_

_‘mY ASS! There has to be a way to damage this thing. It’s a fucking video game world for crying out loud! Every enemy in our way has to have at least one weakness or it would be impossible to progress.’_

_‘Then what do you suggest?’_

Both my arms came out and I sent two Rebellion replicas slicing through the air to impale into Garuda. They bounced off as well and the bird turned her sights on me, swooping down to divebomb me. I just barely managed to throw myself behind one of the pillars in time to avoid the jaws that I was now completely sure had teeth.

_‘Shit. Um- just think; did we find anything recently? Or was there anything we were given-’_

_‘Holy damn.’_

I whirled toward Basch, praying to any god that was listening that Penelo hadn’t used them as an ingredient for one of our meals.

“Cap!” I shouted. “The berries! The ones from that plant the Urutan left behind when he was killed!”

“What about them?” He called back.

“Now is _not_ snacktime!” Vaan yelled at me and I huffed a laugh, smirking over at him. I brought my fingers up under my chin and flicked them forward- at some point over the years, in addition to the random Romani, German, Irish, Japanese, Spanish, and Latin words I had picked up, I’d somehow managed to pick up New Zealand sign language for “fuck you”, despite never having known anyone from New Zealand.

“Any time is snack time if you’re determined or hungry enough.” I turned back to Basch. “Use the berries on Garuda, Cap! They’ll weaken her!”

“Berries? That bird is weak to _berries?!”_ Ashe cried as I sent another useless wave of kunai at Garuda. “How can you be so sure!”

“I just-” I paused, not sure how to explain it or if I should even try.

“Do it!” Balthier called out. “Not all of us have nearly limitless magic resources and as it stands this is a waste of time and ammunition!”

“Limitless is a bit of an exaggeration,” I shot back, pressing my back against the pillar as Garuda swooped again.

_‘I’ve obviously got a limit if gravity reduction can exhaust me so thoroughly. I bet the elements would too, if I didn’t mainly use them to form weapons.’_

While I was considering the extent of my actual limitations, Basch used the berries on Garuda and almost immediately she stopped glowing.

 _“YES!”_ I cried triumphantly, darting out from behind my pillar and flicking both my hands forward to send a trident, Rebellion, and kunai to test her vulnerability. All three struck their target and sunk into her hide before fading back into the Mist. _“I WAS RIGHT! FUCKIN’ CALLED IT!”_

“So then you _weren’t_ sure!” Ashe accused me as Fran loosed arrows and the crack of Balthier’s gun echoed in the valley. I grinned in her vague direction, raising both my arms at my sides to conjure four tridents on my right, four Rebellion replicas on my left, and a kunai in each hand. One by one the tridents flew forward, followed by the Rebellions, then I flung the kunai, summoning another as soon as I let one fly until four of those were flying through the air just as close together as the others.

The elemental barrage slammed into Garuda, driving her backwards with each hit. She was having trouble flapping her wings under the onslaught and she dropped just low enough that Basch, Ashe, and Vossler darted forward to slash at her.

I ducked behind a pillar again and closed my eyes, trying to concentrate. The Mist swirled sluggishly around me, like it wasn’t sure it wanted to follow my command. I opened my eyes to see the ends of my hair beginning to float, but other than that there wasn’t much effect. I pressed my lips together and sighed through my nose in disappointment.

_‘Well I guess they can’t all come naturally.’_

I spun around the corner to see Garuda take to the air again as I grabbed another kunai from the air and I bit back another sigh, flinging my projectile through the air.

_‘This fight would be so much simpler if I had been trying to make myself weightless for the past three days instead of rocks.’_

The fight continued on like that for another few minutes, me flinging elemental projectiles in bursts of rapid succession while Fran and Balthier fired off physical damage shots. Every now and then Garuda would drop low enough that Basch, Vossler, Ashe, or Vaan could run in and take a couple swipes.

Finally, after I sent a stream of tridents shooting through the air to impale her, Garuda dropped to the ground, unable to keep herself aloft any longer. Ashe ran forward and slashed her sword down the side of the bird, followed closely by Vossler impaling the creature with his greatsword. I turned away to look at the entrance to Raithwall’s tomb as the others finished her off.

“What is it?” Balthier asked me quietly. I shook my head slightly.

“I just… don’t like death. I know that sounds hypocritical, coming from someone who’s killed as many people, Urutan, and Rogue Tomatoes as I have, but… Garuda was just doing what she had to,” I said, watching Ashe lead the way toward the crypt.

“You talk about the bird as though it was a person,” Vossler observed suspiciously. “It was a beast, nothing more, and that is why it attacked us- not because Raithwall somehow bound it to serve as a guardian.”

I pressed my lips into a thin line and narrowed my eyes at him. “And you know this because you served Raithwall personally?” He looked taken aback and opened his mouth to reply, but I didn’t give him a chance. “If she attacked because she was bound as a guardian to this place, then she died because she was doing her duty. Just like every person I’ve killed so far. If she attacked because she was, as you say, a _beast,_ then she died because she was defending her nest from something she perceived as a threat- which is _infinitely_ more upsetting because that means that she died for following the laws of nature.”

I turned away and followed Ashe silently up the stairs.

_‘Yaaaaayyyyy more stairs…’_

We were almost to the top when Ashe came to a stop, staring up at the entrance as the rest of us stopped as well.

“Long ago, the gods granted their favor to King Raithwall, who would oversee the subjugation of a vast territory spanning from Ordalia to Valendia,” the princess told us. “Here, he forged the Galtean Alliance.”

 _‘Sounds a whole lot like an Empire,’_ I thought bitterly.

“Though he is called the ‘Dynast-King’, upon establishing the alliance he demonstrated compassion for his people, and disdain for needless war. A philosophy passed on to his successors,” Ashe continued, unaware of my thought process. “One that would bring peace and prosperity for hundreds of years to follow. It was during this time of peace that the city-states of Archadia and Rozarria, each members of Raithwall’s Alliance, took root and flourished.”

“So… Vayne’s empire used to be just a city-state? A part of the territory bound together under Raithwall? The _same_ territory that I assume your kingdom was a part of?” I asked, truly interested in the history of this world, but also forming connections and parallels in my mind that began to grate against my nerves. I kept my opinions to myself for the moment, though; content to let Ashe continue her history lesson.

“Indeed,” Ashe said, nodding at me then looking back to the entrance. “Raithwall left three relics, signifying descent from the Dynast King. Of these; the Midlight Shard was given to what would become House Nabradia, and the Dusk Shard to my ancestors, the founders of Dalmasca. The last of these relics was the Dawn Shard. It remained hidden here, known only to those of royal blood.”

“As though the Dynast-King saw the very plight before us now,” Vossler said. I scoffed.

“Color me surprised that the leader of an empire foresaw the rise of another empire,” I murmured softly. From my place at the back of our group, no one seemed to hear me. Which was fine- I wasn’t looking for an argument at the moment.

“None save descendants of the king are suffered within. If we attempt to enter without proof of such lineage-”

“There’s no guarantee we’ll make it out alive,” Balthier finished for her. “Vicious beasts. Fiendish traps. Something like that?”

“Mhm,” Ashe hummed. “But you must consider the _prize_ _._ The Dawn Shard lies within. And Raithwall’s treasure.”

“And there was I thinking this was going to be hard,” Balthier quipped, beginning up the stairs again. My lips quirked up into a smirk.

“Well, I do love me some Indiana Jones,” I said, drawing the attention of the others. Balthier paused next to Ashe and turned to look at me as I made my way to stand next to him and stare at the entrance at the top of the stairs. “We’ll have to get you a whip, though, Sparrow. Can’t be Indy without a whip.”

“Who says I want to be this ‘Indiana Jones’?” Balthier asked me. I smirked over at him, eyeing him up and down before leading the rest of the way up the stairs.

“Oh you would. You definitely would.”

When we reached the top I looked around in slight confusion, searching for a door, before my eyes narrowed at a glowing device in the center of the floor. There was some sort of glyph carved into the stone floor underneath the device, and the wall at the back of the open area had a carving that looked kind of like a pyramid with a circle inside of it near the top.

Ashe and the others walked past me to circle around the device, with Vaan and Penelo pausing next to me.

“Well? Are you coming or not?” Ashe asked. We joined them at the device and I looked over to Balthier. He must have seen the confusion in my eyes because he smirked.

“Just wait.”

Ashe touched the device and the glow got brighter. Then the glyph carved into the floor lit up, projecting another glyph around us and bathing us in a too-bright light. A soft whine left me as I squeezed my eyes shut, but it was over almost as quickly as it came and I opened my eyes again to see that we had been transported somehow. We were in what I had to assume was the crypt, going by the stale smell in the air and the opulent-but-still-somehow-creepy stonework and architecture.

“Teleportation device,” I murmured quietly, staring at the device next to us as Ashe, Vossler and Basch walked on.

“What was that thing?” Vaan asked, having apparently not heard me.

“A contraption you’d find in all but the most rudimentary ancient ruin. One touch, and off you’re whisked to you know not where. Your sister had the right of it,” Balthier said, gesturing to me. “A teleportation device. The finer points of their operation elude me, but they’re handy all the same. What more need a sky pirate know?” He and Fran made to follow the princess and her guards, leaving me, Vaan, and Penelo to bring up the rear. I cut my gaze away from the teleportation device to follow the lines of the engravings on the walls and pillars.

“God, I’m glad I wasn’t the one who had to carve all this,” I whispered, trailing after Balthier. All along the low-rise banisters there were urns with still-burning flames rising up. I followed the others down a short set of stairs and poked my head over the railing to see a presumably bottomless pit and inky darkness. I pressed my lips together and took a step back, turning to the others only to see a bridge spanning the bottomless pit. A high-pitched whine crawled out of my throat.

“Whyyyyy. Why is it always bridges?”

_‘At least if we fall, the panic will kickstart our anti-gravity?’_

_‘Yeah but what about the others? Just because it’ll save me doesn’t mean I’ll be able to save them with it too…’_

I looked to my right to find Balthier looking down at me, gracing me with a small smile.

“I’m here, Songbird.”

I nodded slowly, taking a deep breath and turning back to the bridge. “Let’s get this over with, then.”

As we walked toward the bridge I looked to my left.

“Well that’s creepy,” I murmured. There was a set of golden statues, the biggest of which had two large blades gripped in its hands, against the wall facing the bridge with weird… almost spiderleg-like accents along the bottom of the wall.

“What, the statues?” Vaan asked. “Yeah, they’re pretty creepy.”

“Anubis,” I murmured, stepping closer to examine the smaller statue on the left. “Egyptian god of… Death or the underworld, I’m not a hundred percent clear on Egyptian mythology. I _do_ know, however, that when the dead arrive in the underworld Anubis weighs their heart against a feather on his scales to determine how righteous they were in life.”

“But, it can’t be this… Anubis because-”

“Because this isn’t my world- my universe,” I said, cutting Penelo off. I smiled sadly over at her before turning to the statue again. “I’m aware, Penni. That doesn’t change the fact that this iconography is nearly identical to the image of Anubis. Look here-” I pointed to the crossed arms of the large statue, then to the two smaller statues flanking it. “-these crossed arms are seen on Egyptian sarcophagi dating back _thousands_ of years. And the smaller statues appear to have the head of a jackal, which is how Anubis is always depicted.”

“Fascinating,” Vossler said, pulling my attention away from the statues. “That is why I do not recognize the countries or mythologies you speak of. You claim to be from another world.” I winced slightly, stepping instinctively back toward Balthier as Vossler turned to Ashe. “Are you certain you can trust her, Majesty? She is obviously delusional.”

“Hey!” Vaan cried, moving to stand between me and Vossler. Penelo slipped her hand into mine and squeezed it lightly.

“Don’t talk about our sister like that,” Penelo defended me.

I pressed my lips into a thin line and looked at the ground, waiting for Ashe to jump at the chance to get rid of me. After an agonizing amount of time, she finally spoke.

“...I am.” My head snapped up, staring at her in shock. “She has proven herself an ally, no matter her feelings toward myself or my ancestry. We may not see eye-to-eye on some things, but I trust in her desire to protect her brother and sister.” She turned to lock eyes with me and a slow smile formed on my face as I nodded.

“Trust my rage,” I whispered to her, my mind filled with green and gold, horned helmets and scepters, trickster magic and illusions.

“Exactly,” she replied, presumably remembering our discussion in the Marquis’ Estate about my anger fueling my gravitational power. She looked back to Vossler. “We are wasting time. Enough questioning and doubting her- she put herself between me and an arrow with no thought for herself. That should have been enough to earn your trust as well.”

“As you wish, Your Majesty.”

My eyes narrowed at Vossler’s back as he fell into step behind Ashe. The rest of us followed suit, Balthier staying at my side as we took our first steps onto the bridge. Something about the way Vossler had said those words sparked something in my memory, but… I wasn’t entirely sure _what_ _._ A low rumble jerked me from my thoughts and a low whimper left me as my fingers clutched at Balthier’s sleeve.

“What is that?” I asked, the pitch of my voice rising with my fear. Gears turning and metal slamming into stone sounded behind us and I looked over my shoulder to see the statues I had just been inspecting _moving forward._ The things that I had thought _looked_ like legs… apparently _were_ legs, because they were now moving- dragging the statues and the wall they were all attached to toward us. The large statue in the center was leaning forward, its arms no longer crossed and its eyes now glowing red. I squeaked, taking a few steps farther away from it. “I’d like to cancel my free trial of _Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom_ now, please!”

“Come now, Songbird,” Balthier quipped lightly, moving himself between me and the wall. “Surely you wouldn’t give up on Mr. Jones so quickly?”

“We need to make a decision: Fight or run!” Vaan called out. My grip tightened around Penelo’s hand where she still held it, and my other hand slipped from Balthier’s sleeve to link my fingers through his.

“Run!” I decided, bursting into motion and dragging Balthier and Penelo along behind me.

“I agree,” Ashe called, quickly catching up to me. Basch and Vossler were close behind her and I chanced a glance over my shoulder to see Vaan and Fran following me as well. The possessed statue wall thing seemed to move… not exactly _slow,_ but it wasn’t gaining speed, so it would be easy to outrun. I turned forward again to see that we were almost to a door. Fran sprinted ahead of us all to open the door for us.

“Witchcraft, I swear to God,” I muttered under my breath. It was the only explanation for how Fran could manage to outrun us all in those heels. Even I wouldn’t have been able to run like that in those spikes, and my closet back home had had plenty of pairs of high heels. We darted through the door and Fran followed Vaan through, slamming the door shut behind her. I squinted into the darkness- there were no torches lit in this room, save for the ones all the way at the other end on the wall. Another low rumble sounded, this time from in front of us instead of behind, and I got a sinking feeling. Two torches lit at the far end of the room, revealing _another_ possessed wall statue thing.

“Fuck,” I hissed, releasing Penelo and Balthier’s hands. More and more torches lit until the room was fully illuminated to reveal the expanse of bridge between us and the wall statue. I did my best to push the fear of the bridge collapsing into a corner of my Mind Palace, seeing that there would be no way to avoid this fight. The wall was between us and our exit.

“The wall comes! We must be quick!” Fran cried. “Together we can bring it down!”

“Okey-dokey, Dr. Jones,” I said, cracking my knuckles before spreading my arms to summon my full elemental armiger. “Hold onto your potatoes.”


	24. Demonic Teleportation and Symmetry in Cartography

I grit my teeth together and took a step forward, weaponry spinning slowly around me as I analyzed the fight ahead of us. I had already determined there was no running and _unfortunately,_ since we had run from the first one, I had no idea how these possessed… demonic walls fought.

“Vaan… stay with Penni. Keep her safe,” I murmured. He nodded once, putting his arm out to push Penelo behind him.

"We require a plan of attack," Vossler said. A grin formed on my face. Since I didn't know how it fought, there was really only one course of action. I began walking forward from the back of the group.

"I am inclined to agree," Basch said. "However-"

"I _have_ a plan," I said, a Cheshire grin spread across my face. "Attack."

Basch sighed as my steady pace sped into a flat out run toward the wall. "Yes, I was afraid of that," I heard him mutter, pulling a laugh out of me. I raced across the expanse of bridge, hearing the other's footsteps echoing behind me. About three quarters of the way across the bridge, the demon wall and I clashed.

I took a breath and drew Stygian, coating it in water magic. With my first slash my elemental armiger scattered, each weapon slamming, slicing, or stabbing the wall on its own. A moment later, Ashe, Vossler, and Basch joined me.

“Do you _always_ charge directly into danger?!” Vossler asked, swinging his greatsword at the wall.

 _“Yes,”_ Basch replied with a grunt. “She does.”

“I can’t help it!” I cried, swinging my free hand to the side to send an air blade slicing into the middle statue as I ducked a swipe from one of its gigantic blades. “My _default setting_ is ‘Non-stop’! You might as well call me Alexander Ham-” my words cut off with a surprised intake of breath as the Mist slipped away from my control, my armiger and the water surrounding Stygian fading away. I heard a couple other gasps and I clenched my jaw as I let my feet take me backwards.

“Come here,” Balthier said quickly. His hand grabbed my arm to pull me to him just as I felt myself get hit with _another_ spell that had my eyes squeezing shut against the pain. My back arched and my muscles seized for a split second before relaxing to let me take a silent, gasping breath. There was a faint burning sensation left over from the spell, settled against my bones. I opened my eyes to stare up at Balthier in confusion.

“I do believe our friendly Demon Wall just cast Doom on you,” Balthier muttered. “Hold still.”

 _‘Hold still?’_ I thought frantically. _‘I don’t have to be from this universe to figure out what_ _Doom_ _is gonna do to me!’_

Balthier pulled out a bottle and crushed it; warmth flooded through me and the dull burning sensation abated. I cleared my throat, relieved when sound came out as well.

“Better?”

I hummed, my head swiveling to find the wall closing in on us. “I will be once we kill this fucking thing.”

“Please don’t charge back in there,” Balthier groaned. I shot him a smile as I sheathed Stygian so both my hands were free.

“Miraculously that wasn’t my plan, Sparrow.” As I turned back to the Demon Wall I started steadily backing up to keep my distance, lifting my hand palm out. To my relief, Mist swirled to my command again, water gathering in my palm. “Too bad I don’t have a suit; it’d be cool to be Pepper Potts. I liked her suit better than Tony’s. The blue was pretty.”

 _“What are you talking about?”_ Vossler cried from just ahead of me.

“You grow accustomed to her strange ramblings,” Basch informed him, slicing at the wall. “In fact I believe they’ve begun to grow on me.”

“As sweet as that is, Cap, I’d move to the side if I were you,” I called with a grin. He stepped to the right just as I commanded the water to shoot forward, a steady geyser spraying forcefully straight into the wall. I lifted my other hand and did the same with that one.

I watched Vossler follow the spray from my palms to the wall out of the corner of my eye, smirking to hold back a laugh as I planted my feet and braced. Then I forced the water pressure higher and condensed the streams into narrow jets.

“Now would be a real good time to attack with everything you’ve got,” I strained through my teeth. Ashe, Basch, and Vosser all doubled down with their strikes.

Mist swelled around the Demon Wall for a split second, then everything went dark. I felt my upper lip curl back from my teeth in a sneer.

“You _unbelievable asshole,”_ I growled, letting my eyes fall closed so I could focus on my other senses. I heard the shuffling feet of my comrades and the scratching, scraping, and clicking of the Demon Wall advancing. I felt the grating of the stone underneath my boots as the force of my water jets on the Demon Wall began slowly pushing me backwards. I caught a whiff of sandalwood and vanilla over the stale smell of the crypt and smirked.

“You here to play Jesus and return sight to the blind, Sparrow?”

“How did you know it was me?” He asked as another rush of warmth rolled through me. I opened my eyes and looked over at him.

“Ask me _after_ we kill the Demon Wall.” I let the water jets end and materialized War’s greatsword, Chaoseater, out of water instead. My hands wrapped firmly around the handle and I turned my attention back to the wall that had closed some of the distance between us.

“Come and get me, Bitch,” I muttered, swinging Chaoseater hard into the wall. Two more swings and Mist swirled around the wall again. It felt slightly different than the first few times, and I wasn’t sure why until it cast its spell.

Sunlight beat down on me and I blinked in confusion as I processed the fact that _somehow_ I was standing at the foot of the stairs leading up to the crypt.

 _“Are you fucking kidding me?!”_ I shrieked, my voice bouncing off the walls of the valley. I whirled around and bolted up the stairs, taking them two at a time.

_‘Fucking stairs. Gonna be the death of us in this stupid world.’_

_‘No argument here…’_

I slapped my palm down on the teleporter once I made it to the top and squinted against the light put off by the activation sequence. When the light faded I darted forward toward the bridge with the first Demon Wall. Only…

 _‘Where the hell did it_ _go_ _?’_

_‘Beats me, but since it’s gone, you don’t have to go around.’_

The top of the middle statue had been visible over the edge of the actual wall the crypt guardian had been positioned against, but now it was nowhere to be seen. I hopped onto the banister, then to the wall that had housed the guardian, then I vaulted off it into the air. I landed on the bridge with a _‘thud’,_ letting my knees bend and tucking my shoulder to throw my momentum forward into a roll. Once I returned to my feet, my momentum saved for the most part, I slammed through the door to the next area.

Penelo and Vaan both jumped as the door burst open and I dashed past them. I dropped my hand to my side, summoning the earthen Spirit Spear Basquias from my armiger as I flew past a startled Balthier and Fran. I slammed into the wall blade first.

_“Did you fucking miss me?”_

“What happened?!” Ashe cried. “One second you were here, the next you were gone!”

“Apparently it decided I needed a change of scenery,” I growled, letting Basquias morph into the warhammer Gideon.

“The wall has been blinding or silencing us every thirty seconds or so,” Fran informed me.

“Of fucking course it- _Argh!”_ I felt the Mist surge around the wall and I let out a pained cry. My muscles locked and fire burned through me to settle against my bones.

“Sparrow, little help!” I cried, swinging Gideon point first at the wall. I heard Balthier answer in the affirmative just as the Mist swirled again and I let out an irritated groan. It was doing it again, I just _hoped_ that it wouldn’t teleport _me_ again.

The crypt once again disappeared to be replaced with the valley. I whirled and darted up the stairs _again._ Only this time there was a desperation in my pace. I’d been teleported before Balthier could remove my Doom- I could still feel the burning ache against my bones.

_‘I hate stairs, I hate stairs, I hate stairs. Literally going to die because of these fucking stairs.’_

_‘No, all we have to do is get back in there. Balthier took care of it once, all we gotta do is get back to him.’_

I forced my encroaching panic to the back of my mind and slapped my palm down on the teleporter, taking a steadying breath through my nose and letting it out slowly through my mouth as sunlight vanished and the crypt appeared. I dashed forward to vault myself over the wall and onto the bridge, slamming through the door and past my siblings.

“Could really use that status heal, Sparrow,” I wheezed as I passed him. Gideon reformed and I slammed it into the wall. After a moment I felt warmth rush through me and take the burning ache with it as it faded. I let out a sigh of relief as I slammed Gideons pike into the wall again. Mist swirled and I ducked under another swing of the statue’s giant blades.

 _“Don’t you fucking dare, you-”_ The crypt disappeared _again._ The Valley of the Dead rose up around me _again._ I turned and stared up the stairs at the entrance _again._

 _“-Cocksucker!”_ My scream echoed off the walls, taunting me as I bolted up the stairs _again._

I slapped the teleporter _again._

Vaulted over the wall and onto the bridge _again._

Slammed through the door on the other side _again._

 _“WHY?!”_ I shouted angrily, charging the wall _again._ _“Why me?! Every time! Every_ _fucking_ _time!”_ I made brief eye contact with Basch. _“Move. I’m done playing games.”_

He pulled Vossler and Ashe out of the way and for some reason, the crypt seemed to fade into a starry night sky all around me.

When I got close my hand dropped to my side, palm out, and closed around the handle of my earthen Rhitta. I spun to the side, dodging a thrust from one of the statues swords and building centrifugal force for Rhitta as I channeled my pure _rage_ at being teleported back outside _three fucking times in a row_ into the Mist. Rhitta grew, and grew, and her gravity increased, and increased, and I knew the only reason I was still able to hold this massive, much too-heavy axe was because I had absolute control of the Mist that had created it.

I completed my spin and Rhitta _slammed_ into the wall. Hard enough that I saw it get _physically_ pushed back and the blade was buried in the metal far enough to hold itself up. I let go of the handle, hearing gunshots echoing and arrows whizzing from Balthier and Fran. I materialized Gideon next and increased its size and weight as I swung it through the air, aiming the face of the warhammer straight for the back of Rhitta.

Gideon slammed into Rhitta just as hard, and the wall was pushed back another couple inches. I twisted my grip slightly to reposition myself and spun the other direction, burying the spike of the warhammer into the wall as well, the handle crossing over Rhitta’s to form an ‘X’. I let go and snapped my fingers. Every other weapon from my armiger appeared, all pointed directly at the wall. They shot forward as one unit, sticking into the wall around the two giant weapons already buried there. One by one, each weapon erupted into the element it was made of with the force of a hand grenade until they were all gone.

I turned to see the starry void under Balthier’s feet glowing, the fingers of his right hand resting on his brow, and two spirals of light rose around him into the air along with six glowing orbs that came to form a circle above him. He swung his right arm toward the wall and the orbs flew forward, seeming to follow his command. They impacted the wall and a too-bright column of light erupted underneath it, forcing my eyes shut.

When the light faded Fran charged forward, throwing a quick, wild succession of punches that ended - _somehow_ \- with an explosion. The starry void faded away, back into the crypt, and I stared in stunned silence as the Demon Wall ground to a halt. The spider-like legs along the bottom fell limp and the statue froze. Cracks appeared throughout the wall behind the statues as the middle statue started spewing sand.

The whole wall crumbled into sand and dust, spilling off the sides of the bridge to leave the path clear for us. Balthier walked up next to me and put a hand on my shoulder.

“The _fuck_ just _happened?”_ I asked no one in particular. Balthier’s hand tightened just slightly.

“You just initiated your first Quickening Chain,” he replied casually, then his hand left my shoulder to rest on my back and his voice dropped to a low whisper as he leaned down next to my ear. “Congratulations, Songbird.”

Ashe walked past us to lead the way to the other end of the bridge and up the stairs next to where the Demon Wall had been before we entered the room. The rest of us followed, but I tilted my head slightly, looking up at Balthier.

“Quickening Chain? What’s that?”

“Quickenings are special abilities each of us gain access to as we fight. They’re much stronger attacks than your usual magic, melee, or ranged, and they’re unique to each person. I used my ‘Fires of War’ Quickening, and Fran used her ‘Feral Strike’. Though… I’m not sure _what_ you used. You’ll have to come up with your own name for it.”

“...Sssssso…” I trailed off. “Alright, so it’s pretty much the Overdrive or Limit Break of this universe. Got it.”

“The what?” Vaan asked, coming up to walk next to me.

“Overdrive,” I repeated before elaborating as I walked up the steps after Ashe. “It’s a thing in Spira; basically the longer Tidus and the others fight, they build up what’s called ‘Overdrive’ which enables them to use a special attack. Tidus’ lowest overdrive is Spiral Cut, which is this dope ass spin-flip before he slams his blade down on his enemy. Yuna’s overdrive is that she can summon one of her Aeons with immediate overdrive.”

“Fascinating,” Balthier murmured. “And Limit Break?”

“Limit Break is an Eos thing… and probably a few more of the worlds linked to Materia’s. It’s been a hot minute since I saw them on Eos, though so all I remember there is that they’re basically just extremely powerful spells, capable of doing more damage in one cast than literally any other attack the boys and Abby have at their disposal.”

“Abby?” Vaan repeated.

I smirked over at him. “You attacked her Emotional Support Consul.”

 _“Argh!_ What does that _mean?!”_

I broke down into laughter, playfully shoving Vaan’s shoulder as we walked through the door to the next area. Balthier and Fran broke away to inspect the edge of the apparent balcony we had come out on. I frowned as I moved closer to look at all the _stairs_ we would have to traverse.

“C’mon… Haven’t I climbed enough stairs for one day?” I muttered to no one in particular. The landing at the foot of the first staircase had three different teleportation devices arranged in a perfect triangle, but only one of them was glowing which I assumed meant that only one was active.

_‘It probably takes us back to the beginning of the crypt now that we defeated the boss so we wouldn’t have to go back and forth on foot if we wanted to leave and come back.’_

“Incredible,” Vossler’s voice carried to me, though he was speaking fairly quietly. “It wounds me to look on while they pillage so solemn a place.” I crossed my arms and grit my teeth, balling my hands into fists as I fought to control my temper so I could listen in.

“Yet without help, you and I are as nothing. Is this not so?” Ashe asked him gently. Vossler grunted, not exactly answering, so Ashe continued. “He thinks ever and always on his own profit. Assure him of it and he shall remain true to our cause.”

A quiet growl escaped my throat, my nostrils flaring as I let my head hang so that my chin touched my chest and my eyes closed.

“I do not share Your Majesty’s trust,” Vossler protested, bringing my mind back to what he had said before the first Demon Wall had awoken.

_“As you wish, Your Majesty.”_

“In addition to those pirates, you allow the aid of this delusional girl as well,” Vossler continued. “She does not respect you, she only helped us rescue you on the _Leviathan_ because it was what Captain fon Ronsenburg wished, she is a clear ally of the youngest Solidor which does not bode well for her feelings on Vayne, you have said yourself that you do not see eye to eye-”

His tone grew darker and more resentful and my eyes snapped open to stare unblinking at the stone beneath my feet as I realized _why_ his words earlier had sparked something. I had subconsciously recognized the sound of a man not pleased with the decisions of his superior but unable to do anything about it. I recognized the sound of a disgruntled _subject_ unhappy with his _queen._

_‘Shit.’_

Fury raced through my being and it took every ounce of my strength to smother the angry scream building in my chest. It took all my willpower to keep myself from lashing out, physically _or_ magically. My protective instincts were lit up like the Fourth of July now, and I couldn’t do anything about it because I knew exactly how much Ashe trusted Vossler. I had known the moment she took him at his _word_ when he vouched for Basch in the Aerodome without a whisper of protest.

I clenched my jaw tight, lifting my head to scowl into the darkness of the crypt as I tuned back into their conversation.

“-finding the Dawn Shard,” Ashe was saying. “It sleeps, in waiting. Somewhere deep within.”

“How can you be certain?” Vossler asked, his voice now only serving to fan the flames of my fury. I may not have _liked_ Ashe in the beginning, and she still may not have been my _favorite_ person, but there was a difference between a girl from a different universe disliking someone’s personality and a royal guard disgruntled with his liege’s decisions.

“I can hear its call,” Ashe replied. Miraculously I found myself relaxing slightly at the gentle tone she used.

 _‘How the hell did we go from hating her and everything she said pissing us off, to her voice actually pulling us_ _away_ _from the possibility of maiming someone?’_

_‘It was a long three days in those tunnels and, however rude she might be to Vaan, she’s actually pretty sweet to Penni when they interact. That earned her points. Plus she told Vossler she trusts you.’_

_‘It’s disgusting how effective her trust was at winning us over.’_

Ashe started down the stairs, Vossler following her close behind, but I stood motionless at the top of the staircase, my eyes burning holes in Vossler’s back. Vaan and Penelo followed next, then Fran, but Basch and Balthier stopped on either side of me.

“Is aught amiss?” Basch asked me. Balthier’s hand came to rest on my back, serving to settle my temper further. I was by no means _calm,_ but I wasn’t on the verge of losing control of my temper anymore. My scowl deepened.

“Just keep an eye on _Azelas.”_ My voice was a soft, dark mutter and I started down the stairs without waiting for a response. When I reached the landing at the bottom of the staircase Vaan approached me and handed me a piece of paper. I looked down to see a map of the crypt in my hands and a slow smile came to my face in spite of my mood.

“How kind of the crypt architects to leave us a present,” I murmured, eyes quickly tracing over the paths. As I examined the rooms my smile dropped and I bit my lip. “Weird…”

 _‘That should have_ _some_ _type of connecting path or doorway drawn in…’_

“What’s weird?” Vaan asked, drawing Ashe and Vossler’s attention. I looked up and motioned Ashe closer. When she came to a stop in front of me and Vaan I stepped to her side and angled the map so she could see it too.

“Check this, Princess,” I said softly, ignoring Vossler’s presence at her other shoulder as I pointed to the map to trace the paths I was talking about. “We’re _here_ and these lines here and here mean that there are doors from this part to those two parts-”

“I am aware,” she said. “I _was_ taught how to read a map.”

My eyes lifted from the page to glare at her, though it didn’t have any real heat behind it anymore. “Gee, and here I thought you might be an uneducated commoner. _Anyway,”_ I turned her attention back to the map. “There’s a _fourth_ section of the crypt _here,_ and I see that it connects to _this_ hallway over _here,_ but what I _don’t_ see is anything that connects the fourth section to the other three sections. It’s like that hallway and this fourth section are entirely closed off from the rest of the crypt.”

“Your point?” Vossler asked, his tone causing my grip to tighten on the map just enough that the paper started to wrinkle.

“My _point,”_ I snipped, “is that if the Dawn Shard is still here, twenty bucks says that that _fourth section_ is where it’s gonna be. If we want that magicite we’ll have to figure out how to get from _here_ to _there.”_

“We would have had to do that anyway,” Vossler pointed out. “Why does it warrant being pointed out?”

I grit my teeth, trying to keep the sneer out of my voice. _“Because,_ having the map isn’t going to make much difference for us. There’s no ‘shortest path’ when you’re dealing with puzzles and secret doors in an ancient crypt; you explore as much of it as you possibly can.”

“Then we should continue on,” Ashe said simply. “There is no use in worrying about answers the map has no way of giving.”

I pulled back slightly to blink at her in surprise before a grin spread across my face and I folded up the map to hand it to Vaan. With one sentence she’d changed my mood completely.

“Y’know, that might be one of the first things you’ve said that I can fully get behind, _Princess.”_ Her title was lacking any venom or hatred this time and she seemed surprised at the lack of hostility as I turned to the stairs leading to the right. “Well, if we gotta explore the whole thing anyway, we might as well follow my mom’s advice!” I said cheerfully.

“And what advice would that be?” Balthier asked, crossing his arms to watch me with a smirk.

“Have you already forgotten the _Leviathan, mein Spatz?”_ Still grinning, I reached out to playfully tap the underside of his chin with my index finger as I passed him. _“‘Always go to the right’,_ Luv.”

I bounced down the staircase to the right of the first one, flinging earthen kunai at the bats flapping around that tried to attack us. Once I got to the first landing I leaned over the banister to get a look at the doors we were heading toward. They were on two different levels, which made complete sense and I’d been expecting as much because the doors were one in front of the other on the map. _Seeing_ it, though, sparked an idea and I took a small breath.

 _“Of course…”_ I whispered softly. “That makes _perfect_ sense…”

“What does?” Penelo asked, leaning forward to see what I was looking at. I whirled from the banister to lean over the one on the other side of the stairs and look straight down.

_‘That kinda looks like…’_

“One moment please,” I said to the others, closing my eyes to dive into my Mind Palace.

_‘Whatcha need?’_

_‘I need you to Tony Stark this map,’_ I told myself, visualizing the map I’d given back to Vaan. _‘3-D, multi-level hologram it for me.’_

 _‘Comin’ right up!’_ My inner voice chirped. I felt my fingers twitch at my side as my mental-self manipulated my perspective of the map into what I had asked for.

 _‘Alright then… here’s_ _the_ _door that I was just looking at… and if we assume the obvious- that the fourth chamber is the area I’m looking at_ _beneath_ _us right now instead of_ _in front_ _of us, then that means that_ _these_ _little nobbies on the map aren’t_ _alcoves_ _…’ _

_“...They’re_ _doors_ _!”_ I breathed out loud.

 _‘But doors to_ _what_ _?”_ My inner voice asked helpfully. I felt my mouth pull to the side slightly.

_‘Top down view, please.’_

My mental 3-D map shifted so that I could see what the doors lined up with.

_‘Nothing.’_

_‘Not necessarily,’_ I thought slowly, focusing on one side instead of the whole image. _‘Look. It’s close to this small room in the center of the passage we’re heading toward. This is an ancient tomb filled with monsters and boobie traps- are we gonna put it past the cartographers to leave off a secret passage from the oh-so-helpful_ _map_ _they left behind?’_

_‘I see your point.’_

I smirked, opening my eyes to turn back to the others.

“I know how to get to the fourth section of the map. Come on!”

“Wait- what?” Ashe cried, hurrying to follow me as I took down the bats in our way. Once I was on level ground with no enemies I turned to walk backwards, grinning from ear to ear.

“The map _gave_ us the answer,” I told her. “I was just thinking linearly instead of third-dimensionally! It was actually super obvious once I made the image 3-D and used some common sense.”

Vaan was smirking while most of the others seemed a little lost.

“And _that,”_ Vaan said casually, catching up with me so he could throw an arm over my shoulder as I turned back around to bounce down another set of stairs toward the lower of the two doors, “is why you should _always_ hand the maps to _her.”_

“How did you ‘make the image 3-D’?” Ashe asked in bewilderment. “How is that even possible.”

“One of the _many_ perks of having a Mind Palace,” I chirped, glancing over my shoulder at her. I secretly relished in the pure suspicion on Vossler’s face. “Now come on! I wanna find the secret passage they left off the map!”

“Secret passage?” I heard Basch repeat quietly. I didn’t respond, just led the way forward with a smile. We stopped for a few chests every now and then, mostly containing various amounts of gil, and fought all the skeletons, zombies, rolling chicken things, liches and huge haunted lanterns between us and the middle room.

Once we made it to our destination my eyes immediately lit upon the far wall. There was something _different_ about it. Instead of being the same engraved linework as the other walls, there was a section that protruded into the room that was smooth and painted. I tilted my head and drifted forward to inspect it, ignoring the transporter in the middle of the room entirely.

“What is it?” Penelo asked me. “Did you find something?”

“I… don’t know yet,” I replied quietly. The sides of the protruding section of wall had what looked like _faces,_ and now that I was closer I realized that it was almost more like an _altar_ than a wall. It didn’t reach all the way to the ceiling, but it was about twice as tall as me. I hummed softly, moving to the side to inspect the statue of the face. When I got close I gasped slightly and grinned.

“Hot damn,” I whispered, leaning closer to the gap between the face and the wall. “I can’t say the architects were that great at hiding things, but that’s not anything I’m gonna complain about right now.”

“What did you find?” Basch asked me, coming closer. I gestured to the gap.

“Our secret passage. Just gotta figure out how to move our friend here.” I patted my hand against the cheek of the statue, turning my grin to the others.

“What about this?” Balthier asked. My eyes shifted to see him standing in front of a relief in front of the adjacent wall with a hole in the symbol at about chest height to him that was glowing red.

“Ooh!” Secret passage mostly forgotten, I darted over to his side to get a closer look at the hole. “I think… there’s a gem in there?” Without much thought about it I reached up and stuck my arm into the hole.

“Wait-!” Balthier moved to pull me back just as my fingers grazed the gem. The glow cut out and the stone altar thing rumbled behind me. A set of zombies spawned into the room as soon as the rumble subsided and I grinned sheepishly up at Balthier, who sighed softly.

“Oopsie,” I sing-songed, pulling my arm free so I could turn to face the threat as I unsheathed Stygian. I glanced over to see that the altar had sunk into the ground, but only up to the noses of the stone faces on either side.

_‘Seems there’s gonna be another gem to activate in the other section.’_

_‘Good that’ll make it symmetrical. Symmetry is satisfying.’_

I darted forward to swing Stygian down at the closest zombie, trying not to gag at the smell of decay. Once the zombies were dealt with I turned toward the hall to keep exploring.

“What exactly are you doing?” Vossler demanded. I stayed silent, continuing on my way. Basch said my name and I stopped, looking over my shoulder to meet his eyes.

“Where are you going? The path is not yet clear.”

 _“We_ are going to go activate the other half of the lock,” I replied in a bored drawl. “There’s no other key in this section of the crypt so we have to go to the other side to lower the altar the rest of the way.”

“How can you be so sure,” Vossler asked, his tone once again demanding an answer. I blinked slowly, my eyes not leaving Basch. His brows furrowed.

“Are you not going to answer the question?” Basch asked, obviously wondering what had gotten into me.

“When I’m asked a question instead of answers being demanded of me, perhaps,” I said calmly.

“How do you know for sure, Songbird?” Balthier asked me, stepping forward. A smile crossed my face.

“Symmetry.”

“What?” Ashe asked. “What does symmetry have to do with it?”

“Symmetry has _everything_ to do with it. Vaan, show her the map.” I motioned to my brother and he pulled the map out to hand it to her. “Take a close look, princess. The top and bottom are mirror images of each other. Literally everything we’ve seen in this crypt is perfectly symmetrical, even the stone slab blocking the secret passages to the fourth section. It has identical stone faces on either side, and it sunk exactly halfway into the floor when I touched that gem. That suggests that there’s only one more gem to activate, and if _everything else_ has been symmetrical up until now, so will the location of the second gem.”

“It will be in the center of the southern passage,” Ashe realized softly, eyes still glued to the map.

“Precisely.” I turned to continue down the hallway. “So we should get a move on. It’s not going to activate itself, after all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am open to suggestions regarding what Reader ends up naming her Quickening! :)
> 
> Also! For those who need a translation, "mein Spatz" is German for "my Sparrow".


	25. I Once Again Make Questionable Choices

We made our way over to the other gem that needed to be activated, picking up the licenses for Dispel and Vanish from a couple chests as we went. We got to the center room and I skipped over to the green glow indicating the gem embedded in the relief. Before I could touch it, Balthier’s hand wrapped around my wrist and pulled my arm back down.

“Perhaps we should wait for the others, hm?”

I turned to see them all filing in and readying themselves for another ambush and gave a sheepish grin.

“Sorry… I got a little excited, I guess.” I ran my fingers through my hair with my free hand since Balthier still had my wrist trapped in a gentle grip. “Ancient ruins are kinda my jam? Like, I could do without the traps and the crypt guardians and whatnot, but the idea that I’m standing _inside_ history is kinda surreal. I love it.”

“Just try to remember the rest of us, Songbird, lest you stray too far and find trouble.”

I pouted up at him. “You sound like Daedalus. ‘Don’t fly too low, Icarus. Don't fly too high, Icarus.’” My head tilted down to look at my boots as I toed at the ground. “Not _my_ fault Icarus decided to launch himself across the sky for the sake of some godly D…”

“I’m not even going to pretend I know what you’re talking about,” Balthier muttered, finally letting go of my wrist. “Now that we’re all present and accounted for you can activate the gem.”

My pout morphed to a mischievous grin. “Yay! Thanks, Not-Ignis!”

Before he had a chance to ask me _again_ why I called him that, I spun around and stuck my hand into the hole. The glow subsided as soon as my fingers grazed the cool, smooth surface of the gemstone and I pulled my hand free to watch the altar sink the rest of the way into the floor.

 _“So cool…”_ I breathed softly, hardly acknowledging the liches that spawned to keep us from going deeper into the crypt, beyond summoning Tidus’ Brotherhood sword.

“Less nerding out, more killing monsters,” Vaan called out. I turned to swipe at the closest lich with my water sword.

“Don’t tell me what to do!” I shot back with a grin.

We quickly dispatched the liches and Brotherhood burst apart into tiny water droplets as I spun back around to approach the secret passage. If life was an anime, there would be literal stars in my eyes. I was bouncing up and down on the balls of my feet, practically vibrating in place with my hands folded underneath my chin as I tried to wait for the others to be ready. Someone sighed on my left.

“Lead the way.” I glanced over to see Ashe watching me with her arms crossed and the barest ghost of an actual smirk on her face. I let out a short, happy squeal before darting off into the passage and down the staircase. Now that we weren’t being accosted by monsters and crypt guardians I took the opportunity to examine the engravings and patterns on the walls, reaching out to run my fingers along them.

_‘So fucking cool.’_

_‘What even is our life anymore? Magic, fighting, airships, Empires, princesses—’ _ my eyes darted back to the others to find Balthier and Fran both watching me. Balthier was _clearly_ amused. I felt a shy grin form on my face before turning to go investigate one of the torch alcoves a little way ahead of me. _‘ —sky pirates, rabbit-women, ancient ruins.’ _

_‘Awesome. That’s what our life is now.’_

_‘No lie…’_

I rounded the corner to find a door and my grin widened again.

 _“Bingooooooo,”_ I sing-songed, skipping ahead again. The others rounded the corner a moment later to find me shifting on my feet impatiently next to the door.

“Excited to be pillaging a royal tomb?” Vossler grumbled at me when he reached me before the others. I froze in place, slowly turning to eye him. Ashe and the rest were still out of earshot if I spoke quietly enough and I _strongly_ debated mentioning his attitude toward Ashe to him. In the end I bit my tongue and shot him a thin, mostly hostile smile instead.

 _“Check_ yo-self before you _wreck_ yo-self, _Soldier,”_ I ground out, turning to push the door open without waiting any longer.

I stepped through to the fourth chamber only to drift to a stop at the banister of the walkway the door opened to, eyes wide as I looked around. There was an almost iridescent shimmer in the air here. One that I could _feel._ It seemed to curl into my lungs as I breathed, tugging at my soul and caressing the edges of my mind.

 _“What the hell…”_ I whispered, turning in a slow circle.

“Fog? Underground?” Penelo asked.

"Not fog…" I said slowly. Fog didn't feel like this.

“Mist,” Fran told us as she walked up behind Penelo.

“You can see the Mist? With your eyes?” Penelo asked. I hummed softly, closing my eyes as I tried to acclimate to the feeling of being… saturated by Mist. It felt… grounding, almost. Sure, it was very strange to feel the Mist in my lungs when I _breathed,_ and the gentle tugging on the edges of my mind and soul left me with a sensation and feeling that I couldn’t quite put words to.

I felt _connected._ Anchored to this world in a way I hadn’t really felt over the weeks I had been here. For once, it almost felt like I belonged here.

“Where it is thick enough, you may,” Fran replied. “The nether runs deep in this place.”

“So, is the Mist dangerous?”

“Yes, but it is also an aid,” Fran told her, sparking my interest and pulling my awareness back. “A dense Mist allows the working of powerful magicks.”

_‘Our magic comes from the Mist…’_

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Penelo said softly. “Can’t count on Vaan to keep track of these things. That’s for sure.”

I huffed a small laugh, opening my eyes to find Fran watching me closely. Penelo drifted over toward where Vaan was chatting with Ashe and Vossler, leaving me with Fran. Balthier was a little farther down the path with Basch.

“Have care how entwined with the Mist you allow yourself to become,” Fran warned me cryptically as she went to join Balthier.

_‘...Well alright then?’_

I started humming the Hymn of the Fayth from Spira under my breath as I wandered along the walkway toward the stairs leading to the lower level of the chamber.

“An interesting song you sing,” Basch said as he fell into step next to me. Balthier stayed a little bit behind with Fran, whispering between each other. The corner of my mouth quirked into a small smile.

“Thanks,” I murmured. As I glanced over the banister into the area we were about to enter I saw a _giant_ red… being? My eyes narrowed.

_‘Wonderful. Another crypt guardian.’_

_“A dense Mist allows the working of powerful magicks,”_ Fran’s earlier words echoed in my mind. I lifted a hand to swish it through the Mist clouding around me, feeling the tugging on my soul now that my mind was focused on it again. The Mist swirled… almost eagerly, caressing my skin as my hand passed though one of the shimmering patches.

_‘Strange…’_

We opened another chest upon reaching the lower walkway that held something called a Blood Sword. Vaan handed it to me and I examined it carefully, stepping back from everyone to give it a few experimental test-swings. It was a falcata-esque sword, like Stygian, only the blade was blood red at the edges and black in the center and the handle was wrapped in brown leather. It whistled through the air and I let out an appreciative hum.

“Very nice…” I murmured softly, twirling the blade like I would Stygian before slicing through the air again. “Perfectly balanced, sharp enough to split a hair…” My gaze lifted from the blade to lock eyes with Vossler. “Sharp enough to kill a man.”

Penelo gasped my name, and I turned my attention to her with a lopsided grin. “I’m only joking, Penni. I think it’s perfectly clear by now that I only kill people who are a threat to the people I care about.” My grin fell slightly as I handed the blade back to Vaan. “And only when I have no other option…”

“You don’t want it?” Vaan asked me, referring to the sword. I shrugged.

“I wouldn’t say no to it if no one else needed it, but since I already have Stygian it would be a little selfish of me to claim it before anyone else got a say, like the princess or Cap.”

Ashe seemed surprised that I thought of them before myself, but Balthier was smirking at me.

“I must say, with an attitude like that, you’d make for a poor sky pirate,” he told me, coming to stand next to me as Basch inspected the sword. Balthier's arm was just _barely_ grazing my shoulder when I turned my head to smirk up at him.

“Oh? And what attitude befits a sky pirate, hm?” I asked him teasingly. “Let me guess, _‘Take what ye can, give nothin’ back’?”_

“Well, I’ve never heard it put _quite_ that way before,” Balthier replied easily, “but yes, that seems fairly accurate.”

I threw my head back with a laugh. “Whatever you say, Captain Sparrow.”

“While I appreciate the thought,” Ashe said slowly, pulling my attention back to her, “the only sword I am able to wield at the moment is this one thanks to my lineage. In truth, I am a black mage.”

I blinked at her once. Twice. Three times. Then tilted my head.

“What, you’ve been saving your magic for a rainy day, then?”

“We have not stumbled across an enemy yet that has required both our magicks, aside from the Demon Wall,” she replied in a matter-of-fact tone. “And I _did_ use my magic on the Demon Wall, you were just outside each time.”

I let out a small grunt as our group continued on. “Well alright, then. Learn somethin’ new everyday, I guess.”

I hadn’t seen if Basch took the sword or not, but it wasn’t really a big deal either way, so I didn’t ask. Quoting _Pirates_ to Balthier had put a song in my head that I was quite content to let float out under my breath into the Mist-laden air of the crypt. I only remembered the words to the first verse, though, so beyond that I just hummed the notes. 

_“Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for me._ _  
__We pillage, we plunder, we rifle, and loot._ _  
__Drink up, me ‘earties, yo ho!_ _  
__We kidnap and ravage and don’t give a hoot,_   
Drink up, me ‘earties, yo ho!”

As we descended the last of the stairs to the main floor of the chamber, we found ourselves across from the red monstrosity that I had spied from the upper walkway. I narrowed my eyes at it, anticipation fluttering in my stomach as my song fell silent. It was at least ten feet tall, with fur thick enough to be considered a blanket covering its shoulders, chest, and head, two great, curling horns sprouting from either side of its head, furry cloven hooves, and two body builder-esque arms crossed across its chest. What really made me pause at the foot of the stairs, though, were the _extra, King Kong_ sized arms behind those, covered in the same thick, red hair as its head and shoulders.

As it began to wake up I realized that _those_ arms were the arms it used, the other ones remained crossed. Like this thing was a disapproving father, staring down his teenage child who got caught sneaking back into the house from a party, smelling like booze and weed. One of the King Kong arms reached out to take hold of the giant fucking _battle ax_ that I had somehow overlooked, sticking out of the floor next to it.

“Ooooooh that’s a hefty boi,” I murmured, drawing Stygian. Suddenly I was wishing I had taken that Blood Sword after all. I did _not_ want to have to get any closer than necessary to that thing.

As if _hearing_ my discomfort, the Mist in the air seemed to drift in, surrounding me more densely than the others. It wrapped around my body, reminding me of an eager dog awaiting a command from its master.

 _“...powerful magicks…”_ Fran’s voice echoed again. Cautiously, I let my desires trickle into the Mist.

I let out a small gasp when my feet left the floor. It was only an inch or so that I was hovering above the ground, but I could see my hair floating around me like I was underwater. I cut off the connection between my desire and the Mist surrounding me and I dropped back to the floor.

_‘Oh, okay, that was badass.’_

_‘Can’t wait to be able to do that when I’m_ _not_ _surrounded by the magic equivalent of a turbocharger.’_

_‘Why does this thing seem familiar though…’_

_‘Lives in a crypt… furry as all hell… two big ass horns… arms the size of tree trunks…’_

_‘“There was no blanket. Meaning that the bulky, fuzzy mass that was too big to be his head… was his head. And the points that looked like horns…”’_

My eyes got wide as my mind recalled the quote from the first Percy Jackson book, _The Lightning Thief,_ and I inhaled sharply, excitement taking the place of my fear as I began to bounce happily on the balls of my feet. I felt a large grin form on my face.

 _“Minotaur!!!!!”_ I cried gleefully.

“Minotaur?!” Vaan echoed, looking back and forth between me and the thing across from us. I nodded quickly.

“Son of Pasiphae and the Cretan Bull,” I gushed. “Because he was the unnatural offspring of a woman and an animal, natural food sources wouldn’t sustain him, instead he had to eat _people!_ So King Minos, Pasiphae’s husband, commanded Daedalus to build the Labyrinth to contain the abomination!”

The Minotaur roared and I flinched backwards; even the Mist had quaked.

“Okay, how about no more of that,” I whimpered, holding my free hand to my head.

“Are you ill?” Basch asked worriedly as we eyed the Minotaur across from us.

_‘The illest.’_

I smothered a laugh at my inner voice. “Nah, I’m fine, Cap. Let’s go kill us a Minotaur.”

Vossler charged forward, Ashe and Vaan following close behind. I darted toward the middle of the room, dropping to a knee and bending back to slide under a swing of the giant ax. It started casting magic next and I watched a fire ball fly at Vaan. He was too close to the Minotaur and I was too far away to react in time, so I had to watch as he took the fire ball head on.

My lips peeled back from my teeth in a vaguely feral looking snarl and I whipped a hand up to fling a water trident forward. It slammed into the twisting horn on the Minotaur’s left side, forcing the monster around to face me.

 _“Toro,”_ I growled as I created a shimmering sheet of water magic in my hands to flap around. It was one of those heat-of-the-moment decisions. One that I was entirely proud of—because _fucking hilarious—_ but I knew without a doubt that Balthier would be mad at me again for throwing myself in harm’s way. That was a problem for later, though. Now I had the Ivalician equivalent of an ancient Greek monster giving me its full attention. I let the water sheet break apart into three separate tridents. Water covered the blade of my sword and I held it point-out toward the monster. It roared in response and the Mist quivered around me again.

“You wot, Mate?” I asked with a sly grin as Ashe chanted a spell nearby. The Minotaur roared again. “I’ll bash yer fuckin’ head in. Swear on me _mum.”_

As I finished speaking I launched myself forward, side-stepping a fireball a split second before Ashe’s spell finished and a sphere of water sloshed around the Minotaur for a moment. I followed her attack with the three tridents I had formed, keeping its attention on me. A burst of air behind me propelled me forward but right as I came into melee range and twisted to slice with Stygian one of the King Kong arms swung in to backhand me, connecting firmly with the majority of my body, and I felt more than heard a faint snap as the blow sent me flying across the room with a pained yelp.

I landed in a heap on the stone floor and slid a few feet until my back collided with the low wall around the perimeter of the area. More than one person shouted my name as I got my arms underneath me to push myself up, coughing lightly and gasping for breath. My face screwed up in pain at the feeling of a dull knife in my ribs.

_‘Wonderful.’_

I lifted my head to watch the others as they fought. Vaan, I could tell, was less than pleased that I had been sent flying. Fran seemed none too happy as well, lifting her bow to fire on the monster. Balthier, however, stepped forward looking _furious._ One of my hands left the ground, drifting up to slide under my shirt and inspect the damage to my ribs. My fingers grazed along each rib and I winced when I brushed over the injured spots. Penelo skidded to a stop and dropped to her knees next to me, resting her hand on my shoulder.

_‘So that’s at least three fractures, if not full breaks, on the right and two more on the left. Fantastic.’_

The Mist in the air swirled threateningly and my eyes snapped over to the Minotaur whose second set of arms were no longer crossed, but extended with the palms pressed together, in the middle of casting a large spell. I felt my eyes go wide as a glowing red and silver glyph appeared in the air behind it. I knew I wouldn’t be able to get to my feet in time to try to counter the spell or block it and I could tell that the Mist clouding the air around me was beginning to react to the tension knotting in my chest, caressing my skin and tugging more insistently on the edges of my mind as if trying to tell me something. The glyph exploded in a burst of fire that rushed forward towards Balthier, Vaan, Fran, and Vossler.

 _“No!”_ My ragged shriek echoed through the chamber and the pain in my ribs flared white-hot. The hand I had rested lightly on my injured ribs flew up, palm out as if trying to grab the spell from the air, and I felt the Mist pulse away from me. A split second after I felt the pulse, Penelo gasped softly and I watched in stunned silence as the spell that had been heading straight for my friends, my brother, and Vossler seemed to curl in on itself. It curled tighter and tighter until, with a popping sound that reminded me of a pressure seal releasing, the spell disappeared entirely. 

Vaan didn’t let the shock distract him for long, almost immediately charging right back toward the Minotaur. Ashe started chanting a spell. Balthier leveled his gun at the creature, squeezing off a shot. He seemed to be slowly trying to make his way over to me. With another few gunshots and a couple of Ashe’s water spells, we finally seemed to defeat the Minotaur. It set the ax head against the floor to use it as a makeshift cane as it dropped to one knee, three arms hanging limply at its sides while the fourth still gripped the handle of the battle ax.

With one final roar, the Mist in the chamber swirled around its body until a bright white flash forced us to shield our eyes or look away. When the flash subsided and we looked back to where the Minotaur had been we discovered that in its place was what looked to me like a shard of quartz crystal, only it had an intricate, glowing red glyph inside. The crystal shattered, and the glyph pulsed once before shimmering away. The dense Mist in the air seemed to fade along with the glyph, leaving me feeling slightly off-balance in addition to the sharp pain lancing through me with each shallow, slightly gasping breath I took.

I was still half-crumpled on the ground, managing to hold myself up with one arm while the other hand guarded my injured ribs. Balthier knelt down in front of me, leaning his forearm on one knee while his other hand reached out to grip my chin so he could look me over.

“Are you injured?”

My lips twitched into a halfway believable smile, trying to smother a wince with each breath. “I’m fine, Sparrow. No need to worry… I can still kick some ass… if I need to.”

“I’ll be the judge of that,” he muttered. His eyes dropped to my hand still curled protectively around my ribs and narrowed as he let go of my chin to reach for my hand. I shied away from him and he sighed softly. “Yes, that’s what I thought. How bad is it?”

I took another shallow breath, grimacing now that I was caught. “Not terrible. A couple of my ribs… got a little dinged.”

Balthier shook his head slightly as Penelo murmured her healing spell. Warmth rushed through me, curling in my chest and around my ribs, and I felt my breaths begin to come easier and deeper. When the warmth subsided I let out a sigh and looked over at Penelo with a smile.

“Thanks, Penni. That feels a lot better.” Her face lit up with a grin as she curled her hands in front of her.

“Reckless girl.” Balthier’s mutter pulled my attention back to him. Ashe, Basch, and Fran were all standing behind him with their arms crossed in disapproval, but Vaan put out a hand to help me up which I gratefully took. Once I was standing in front of him without a giant Minotaur monster trying to kill us I looked him over carefully.

“Are you okay, Kid?” He groaned my name and batted my hands away.

“I’m _fiiiine,”_ he whined. “You’re the one who got knocked across the room like a ragdoll, I should be asking you that.”

I rolled my eyes at him. “Penni healed me; I’m good as new. You, on the other hand, took a fireball point blank. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“You taunted a ten foot tall monster—a monster _literally_ twice your height,” Balthier growled. He had pushed himself to his feet again while Vaan and I were mothering each other and now he was towering over me, _clearly_ not happy now that it was obvious I was okay. “You’re _lucky_ all you got were a couple ‘dinged ribs’, though I assume they were more than just _‘dinged’_ if your breathing was anything to go by. I thought we were _past_ this.”

I gave him an apologetic smile. “Old habits?”

His eyes narrowed dangerously before he turned away and started toward a chest on the opposite side of the room. “Your ‘old habits’ will be the death of you.”

I almost thought I heard him add on in a low mutter “And of me,” but I figured it was just my ears playing tricks on me. I felt my mouth pull to one side as I watched him walk away while Vaan turned to the chest that was a few feet away from where I had landed. I heard him open it, and heard him make some type of pleased-sounding hum at the contents, but my eyes stayed glued to Balthier.

_‘We knew he would be angry.’_

_‘Yeah, but it still sucks…’_

“Back to that minotaur though…” I said softly when Vaan and Balthier rejoined the group. “Any idea what it _actually_ was? Because I’m not stupid enough to think it was the actual Minotaur from Greek myth. For one, those myths don’t exist in this world. For two, this isn’t Materia’s world, so it’s not like it was a product of my subconscious or anything.”

“‘In vainglory they arose, shouting challenges at the gods,’” Fran said, seeming to be quoting something. “‘But prevail they did not. Their doom it was to walk the Mist until Time’s end.’ A legend of the Nu Mou.”

“My family tells a story of the Dynast-King and an Esper,” Ashe said. I tilted my head in interest. Esper sounded… familiar, but it wasn’t something I remembered hearing about from Spira, Eorzea, or Eos, so I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was.

_‘A pokemon.’_

_‘I am_ _entirely_ _certain that she’s not talking about a fucking psychic type pokemon, come on now.’_

_‘Just sayin’…’_

“The story goes that in his youth, the Dynast-King defeated a mighty gigas for which the gods took heed of him,” the princess continued, unaware of my squirrelly train of thought. “Thereafter, it was ever bound to him in thralldom.”

“So… All this time it’s been here guarding the Dynast-King’s treasure,” Balthier determined. I stayed back next to Vaan and Penelo as Ashe approached the large door the “gigas” had been guarding.

“Not so,” Ashe replied. “The Esper _is_ the Dynast-King’s treasure.”

_‘...What.’_

_‘I can guarantee that that’s_ _not_ _what Balthier had in mind when she said he could have the treasure.’_

 _“That’s_ your treasure?” Balthier asked incredulously. I felt my lips twitch into a weak smile.

_‘Saw that coming…’_

“In this Esper we now command rests a power whose worth is beyond any measure,” Ashe told us.

“Is that so?” Balthier drawled. “Call me old-fashioned, but I was hoping for a treasure whose worth we _could_ measure.”

I snorted lightly.

“We just got our first Aeon, Sparrow,” I told him, realizing what these Espers were the rough equivalent of. “It’s not like she just handed you a rusty spoon or some shit. Speaking of rusty spoons—what was in that treasure chest you opened?”

“The license for Shades of Black,” he replied, still not quite looking at me. “It’s a spell that allows a non-black mage to cast a random black magic spell.”

I nodded intently. “Neat. That sounds useful.”

“Indeed it can be,” Basch replied, coming to stand next to me. “I cannot count the times a comrade having access to Shades of Black made a pivotal difference in battle during the war.”

“What about you, Vaan?” I asked, glancing over at him. He shrugged lightly, but wouldn’t quite meet my gaze.

“Nothin’ real special.”

I narrowed my eyes at him but opted to let it drop. Whatever he had found, he didn’t want the others to know what it was.

“Hey, Ashe,” Vaan called, changing the subject. “Any idea why that one spell just disappeared?”

My eyes slid over to Penelo, who shared a look with me. It had been because of _me._ We both knew it, but it seemed that neither of us were willing to volunteer that information. When I looked away from her to turn back to Ashe, I noticed Fran staring at me with an unreadable expression.

_‘She can sense the Mist.’_

_‘So then she probably knows it had something to do with me too…’_

“No, I do not. It was a strange occurrence to say the least—almost as if the Mist rebelled against Belias’ control.” She shook her head, turning to push the door open. “Let us continue onward. There are more pressing matters at hand.”

What I had thought was a hallway on the map turned out to be a stairwell leading down, deeper into the crypt. I stayed next to Penelo while Vaan went ahead to walk with Balthier, Ashe, and Vossler.

“God, I’m glad healing spells are a thing,” I murmured to Penelo. “If I’d had to go down all these stairs with five broken ribs, I might have literally died.”

She sighed and shook her head. “Balthier is right, you know. You really do need to be more careful.”

I frowned and looked away. “I’m trying, it’s just hard not to throw myself into danger when I see you or Vaan get hurt… You two are all I really have left—I mean, let’s face it, if the universe was gonna let me go home it would have by now. I can’t just stand by and do nothing when I have a chance to protect you guys…”

“But we don’t want to lose you either,” Penelo reminded me, threading her arm through mine as we neared the foot of the stairs. There was another teleportation device there, but it was inactive, and beyond that was another set of stairs. This time they led upward and I could just barely see some type of shrine at the top.

Penelo let go of me to walk next to Vaan, and I found myself between Fran and Vossler by the time we reached the top of the stairs. Our group paused, staring at the glowing orb atop the pedestal. Basch looked over at Vossler.

“What’s wrong?”

Vossler remained quiet for a moment, causing me to narrow my eyes in suspicion, then he glanced over to Ashe. “Your Majesty, we must go.”

Ashe nodded once and began to approach the pedestal, only to come to a stop again when the orb began to glow brighter and brighter.

“Rasler…” Ashe said softly. I tilted my head slightly. Hadn’t Basch said something about someone named Rasler? I heard a shuddering breath from Vaan and watched him take a few steps forward. Ashe turned, reaching as if to grab someone’s arm, but there was no one there. She looked so sad…

“You will be avenged,” she whispered softly.

Vaan turned as well, as though he was watching someone walk past our group. All at once I felt a surplus of pure Mist wash over me briefly, causing me to stumble slightly.

 _‘What the_ _hell_ _was that?!’_

The room seemed to spin slightly and I lifted a hand up to hold my head. When the sensation passed, Ashe was holding a chunk of magicite like the one Vaan had found in the palace, Penelo was gripping Vaan’s arm, and Balthier looked _incredibly_ suspicious.

 _“Weird…”_ I muttered under my breath, shaking my head to clear it. Ashe was wandering past me to head back down the stairs and when I turned I realized that the teleporter was now active.

_‘Yay, we don’t have to go back up all those stairs!’_

“There’s an engraving here,” Ashe murmured when she approached the stone. “‘By this, return ye to the Hall of the Destroyer. By other means, return ye back to this place.’”

“I assume ‘Hall of the Destroyer’ means that room where the… Esper was?” I asked softly. Ashe shook her head.

“I suppose we will find out,” she replied, waiting for the rest of the group before activating the device. I closed my eyes against the flash of light and when I opened them again I saw that we were standing in the very first chamber where we had run from the Demon Wall.

Balthier still seemed to be avoiding me which, after the strange spot of Mist that had passed through me, was extremely unsettling. I narrowed my eyes at the floor as we gathered around the next teleporter, Vaan and Penelo on either side of me. When had his presence and attention become such a significant source of comfort? Sure, he had put himself in that position with the bridges from the beginning, but why did I want him close now?

I frowned as the glyph glowed around us and the light flared, sweeping us off to the entrance of the crypt. I trailed along behind the rest of the group, lost in thought as Ashe started down the stairs. Sure he was attractive. And clever. And thoughtful. And definitely my type.

“Shit.”

“Hm? What is it?” Vaan asked me. I looked up at him, eyes wide when I realized I’d spoken out loud.

“Nothing. Absolutely nothing.” My eyes darted over to Balthier, who was talking to Fran, and back to Vaan. “Nope, nothing at all.”

“You’re a terrible liar,” Penelo laughed. I stuck my tongue out at her.

“No I’m not.”

“You definitely can be,” Vaan agreed. I pouted and crossed my arms.

“You’re both picking on me and I don’t think I appreciate it.”

“Yeah, well, you’ll get used to it,” they choroused at me. I thought I heard Balthier chuckle and I felt my face heat as I ducked my head to hide behind my hair, watching my feet as we descended the rest of the stairs to the base of the Valley of the Dead.


	26. Sharp Enough

The others broke into a jog as soon as their feet touched sand. I, on the other hand, noticed the sound of engines and froze. When I lifted my head I saw an entire _fleet_ of Imperial ships fast approaching. My friends slowed to a stop, watching smaller vessels launching into the air to come down to us. I pressed my lips into a thin line, immediately making my body relax so as to appear as non-threatening as possible.

Even Vaan and Ashe reluctantly accepted their fate, allowing the soldiers to apprehend us without a fight. We were corralled and escorted onto one of the ships which brought us back to a ship I was unfortunately familiar with. The moment I recognized the layout, I stopped trying to appear non-threatening and corrected my posture. We were on the _Leviathan_ again. These Imperials likely knew better than to believe my charade.

As we were herded through into the navigation room of the ship I held my head high and kept my shoulders back. Judge Ghis was waiting for us.

“Such a tremendous honor to again be graced with your presence, Your Majesty,” he said after a moment, turning toward us. I smirked, lifting my hand to send him a cutesy little finger wave when he spotted me behind Vossler and to the left. Other than a twitch of his jaw muscle, he showed no reaction to me and his attention shifted back to Ashe. “You left us with such great dispatch upon our last encounter that I must confess, I had begun to worry that we may have given Your Majesty some cause for great offense.”

“Such a heartfelt display of remorse,” Ashe said, and I felt a small swell of pride at the amount of pure sass in her voice. “Now what is it you want?”

“I want you to give me the nethicite.”

I narrowed my eyes just as Penelo echoed his words next to Vaan.

_‘Nethicite? Like Larsa found in Lhusu?’_

_‘More importantly, how did he know where we were…’_

My eyes shifted suspiciously to Vossler as Ghis barked that Penelo’s nethicite was a base imitation. My mind was racing though every detail.

_‘He was the only one who joined the expedition late—the only one who might have had an opportunity to communicate with the Empire… And we know he’s not pleased with Ashe’s decisions…’_

“We seek Raithwall’s legacy, the ancient relics of the Dynast-King: deifacted nethicite.”

_‘But to the point of what basically amounts to treason? Especially in Ashe’s eyes?’_

_‘Ghis knew what we were doing. What we were after. Who else could have told him? Who else could have led him here? You heard the tone Vossler took with her, his Queen. That alone spoke for itself and you know it. You’ve known it from the minute you heard it.’_

“Did you not tell them, Captain Azelas?”

Honestly, I was almost surprised at my _lack_ of surprise, even with my previous thought process. Vossler stepped forward and I found myself stepping as well, having to force myself not to get between him and Ashe.

“Majesty, he speaks of the Dawn Shard. That is the nethicite.”

“Are you mad, Vossler?” Basch demanded. I scowled at Vossler’s back.

“I told ya somethin’ was up with him, Cap,” I ground out. “I’m just sorry that I noticed it too late to actually do anything about it.”

“If we are to save Dalmasca, we must accept the truth,” Vossler shot back at Basch, ignoring me entirely. “I will fight this profitless battle no more!”

“Right idea, _wrong_ implementation,” I snarled at his back.

“I will hear no judgement from _you!”_ Vossler raised his voice, whirling to tower over me. To my credit, I stood my ground in the face of his fury. “You are a cold, ruthless _murderess!_ That Her Majesty was subjected to your evil for as long as she was is a failure on both my part and Basch’s!”

 _“Hey!”_ Vaan and Penelo cried together.

“She has proven herself loyal enough,” Ashe defended me, much to my surprise. I raised a hand to placate the three of them.

“No, no, he’s entirely correct,” I told them, my voice devoid of emotion, utterly cold. “I’ve killed eighteen Imperial soldiers with no more effort than it takes to get out of bed. I _am_ a ‘murderess’, as he so elegantly put it, and nothing will change that. I’m curious to see if Captain Azelas can tell me anything I don’t already know.”

I watched as the man in question clenched his jaw, the vein in his throat telling me that he was more than likely fighting the urge to kill me right then and there from how rapidly it was fluttering.

“Captain Azelas has struck a wise bargain,” Ghis informed us, though it did nothing to break the stare-down between me and Vossler. “In return for the Dawn Shard the Empire will permit Lady Ashe to reclaim her throne, and the Kingdom of Dalmasca will be restored. Think on it.”

“Did you actually run that one by Vayne _or_ his father?” I sneered at Ghis, still not breaking eye contact with Vossler. “Or is the servant attempting to overthrow the master in his own bid for power?”

“The agreement will be honored,” Ghis snapped, though I distantly made a note that he hadn’t actually denied my accusation. His voice smoothed back out. “An entire kingdom for a stone. You must admit, ‘tis more than a fair exchange.”

“And when all is said and done, your master will have another pet,” Balthier determined. I ignored the flutter in my heart. There was a moment of silence, then Ghis spoke.

“Lady Ashe, let us take _him_ for the people of Dalmasca.”

The world ground to a halt beneath me.

“Your Majesty wallows in indecision on peril of their heads!” The sound of a sword being unsheathed finally shattered my focus on Vossler and my gaze shifted to see Ghis holding a sword at Balthier’s throat.

My stomach dropped to my feet. I felt like I was freezing and burning up all at once. The edges of my vision began to go fuzzy. White-noise in my ears nearly drowned out Ghis’ next words, and oh, how I wished it actually had.

“And his shall be the first to fall.”

I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t think. I felt tears begin to form, though I wasn’t sure if they were tears of anger, frustration, or fear. Realistically, it was probably some combination of the three. My hair was floating in the air around me, but beyond that the Mist showed no reaction to my jumbled emotions.

“Well at least your sword is to the point,” Balthier quipped fearlessly. It felt like my throat was being held in a vice-grip and the vice just continued to tighten further and further.

Ashe stepped forward and slowly, reluctantly handed the Dawn Shard to Ghis. The vice grip on my throat loosened ever so slightly. When Ghis’ sword was sheathed again I found the ability to breathe, though speaking and thinking were still out of reach.

“To think the relics of the Dynast-King were deifacted nethicite,” Ghis mused, holding up the Dawn Shard in front of him. “Doctor Cid will be beside himself.”

“What did you say?” Balthier asked, sounding almost angry. His voice pulled me a little farther into the present and I could almost feel my brain kick-start itself.

Instead of answering Balthier, Ghis addressed Vossler, ordering us to be taken to the _Shiva,_ and the soldiers escorting us began to herd us to the door. Unfortunately, I still didn’t exactly have control of my body. One of the soldiers barked at me to move, but I could only stand there, staring in mute, abstract horror at Ghis and the place Balthier had been standing a moment ago.

_‘He was… Ghis wanted to… He would have…’_

**_‘WHY COULDN’T I STOP HIM. WHY CAN’T I MOVE? WHY CAN’T I SPEAK? WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING?’_ **

A familiar arm shot into my vision, grabbing hold of the wrist of the soldier shouting at me.

“Didn’t anyone ever teach you not to hit a lady?”

It felt like a herculean effort just to shift my gaze enough to see that the soldier had been about to strike me. I followed the arm attached to the hand that had a white-knuckle grip on the soldier’s wrist, until my eyes met two pools of pale, sparkling green.

“Let’s go, Songbird,” Balthier murmured, reaching with his free hand to take my wrist and pull me into his side. His arm curled around me and he tossed the soldier’s hand away. As he led my still not quite co-operating body away from the Imperials I squeezed my eyes shut and leaned further into him, taking a deep breath to imprint his scent into my memory.

We were led to another room where Balthier and I were jerked roughly apart. He shouted a protest, but all I could manage was a ragged, pitiful whine. All of us, save for Vossler, were placed in shackles. Princess Ashe included. The soldiers led us to another small ship, though I was more dragged than led since I still couldn’t make my body listen to my commands. My thoughts were trapped in a hellish loop that was taking all my focus to try to break.

 _‘He was going to die. I couldn’t stop it. Why couldn’t I stop it? I couldn’t move. Why couldn’t I move? Where was my fucking martyr complex_ _that time?’_

_‘uselessuselessuselessyoucouldn’tdoanythingyoucouldn’tmoveyouwouldn’thavesavedhimuselessuselessuseless—’_

I instinctively turned my head at the sound of my name and realized I was beginning to hyperventilate. Vaan and Penelo shared a look before sliding over to press into either side of me. It helped, but only slightly. Balthier walked over to me and lifted his shackled wrists to slide his arms over my head and around my shoulders. He leaned down to rest his forehead in my hair.

“Deep breaths, Songbird,” he whispered. “Everything is okay.”

I whimpered, but found myself beginning to relax. My breathing started to slowly regulate until I heard my mother’s voice echo through my mind and my body automatically followed suit.

_‘In through the nose, out through the mouth… Good… Keep breathing just like that.’_

After the fourth or fifth time I exhaled I felt the vice around my throat melt away.

“He could have killed you,” I murmured, my voice pitifully weak. “He could have killed you and—”

“Shh. He didn’t, though,” Balthier said gently. “The princess stepped forward and sacrificed the Dawn Shard.”

I whimpered again. “What if she hadn’t? Or what if she had and he decided to kill you anyway? I _froze,_ Balthier… I couldn’t do anything. He could have killed you and I wouldn’t have been able to stop it… I wouldn’t have been able to save you…”

He lifted his head to crane his neck back so he could get a look at my face. “How many times do I have to tell you, Songbird. It is not your job to sacrifice yourself for any of us. You were brought here for more than just throwing yourself on a sword to save someone else.”

I ducked my head and stepped closer to curl into his chest. When his arms tightened around me I let out a shuddering sigh. _“I’m sorry…”_

We stayed like that until our ship docked on the _Shiva_ and we were forced to separate. I had used the extra time to push the Hell Loop into a box in my Mind Palace and lock it away. Once that was gone my inner voice started analyzing everything. By the time the soldiers forced Balthier to let me go and separated me from Penelo and Vaan, I had a clear head, a list of targets, and just enough fury filtering through my veins to let me kill without… _immediate_ remorse.

When Balthier stepped away from me, my eyes instantly locked on _Captain_ Vossler Azelas and didn’t leave him until the soldiers forced me to start walking. Vossler and Ashe trailed behind, though I could tell that Ashe was less than pleased at having to walk with the man who had betrayed her.

“Vaan.” My voice was flat and my brother glanced over his shoulder at me. “Did Cap take that sword or no?”

He shook his head slightly. “No, but I got ya something I think you’ll like better.” I raised an eyebrow at him, but a guard barked at us to be quiet so he couldn’t elaborate. He sent me a mischievous grin that pulled a smirk from me.

“When we return to Dalmasca, we can announce that you are alive and well.” Vossler was speaking to Ashe and I was close enough to hear them from my place just behind Basch. “I will then continue our negotiations with the Empire.”

There was a pause then and I could almost _taste_ Ashe’s righteous fury.

“I believe Larsa is the key,” Vossler continued. “He’ll listen to us. We should trust him.“

_‘I mean, that’s about the only thing you’ve said that’s not wrong. Larsa will listen and should be trusted.’ _

“Who are you, Vossler, to talk of trust?” Ashe hissed. I felt myself smirk again. Oh, yeah. She was _pissed._

“How did you know,” Basch muttered, dropping back enough that we could talk without being heard. “How did you know he had made a deal with the Empire.”

I lifted one shoulder in a shrug, eyes focused forward. “I didn’t.”

“What?”

My eyes flicked over to Basch before returning to the opposite end of the hangar we were being led through. “When Ashe said that she trusted my desire to protect my siblings. His voice when he replied struck me as… off. Then again after we beat the Demon Wall and made it to that multi level chamber, she told him that so long as Balthier was assured of his compensation, he would remain loyal—Vossler was furious over the idea of sky pirates in the tomb, but he deferred to her again. That’s when I recognized it. The voice of a disgruntled subject unhappy with the decisions of his queen.”

“Fascinating…”

Shrugged again. “Reading people has always been a talent of—”

I felt a ripple through the Mist that caught my breath in my throat.

“Oh, that didn’t feel right,” I murmured. Off to my left Fran began gasping for breath. A dull ache made its home in my temples and I lifted my hands to my forehead. I could feel the Mist tugging at me again and I let out a low groan.

“Fran?” Vaan sounded worried, and I agreed. She was more sensitive to the Mist than I apparently was if she could follow it to break us out of prison.

“Such heat,” Fran cried, curling in on herself. “The Mist—it’s burning!”

I hummed in agreement, the tugging sensation getting stronger. “Yeah this isn’t right.”

Fran shrunk down to the ground, curling onto her hands and knees as her breath shuddered erratically. I shook my head, fighting against the Mist tugging on my soul. “We need to leave,” I said shoving my emotions into a corner to keep my voice even. “The Mist wants us to leave.”

“You! Stand!” One of the guards approached Fran, only for her to throw him off of her. 

“Hold her down!” Vossler cried, zeroing my attention back onto him as Fran broke free of her shackles with a shriek. She started attacking our captors in a wild rage. I back tracked, ending up standing between Balthier and Ashe.

“What’s wrong with her?” Penelo asked from Balthier’s other side. I looked over to see Balthier free of his shackles and adjusting the cuffs of his sleeves.

“I always knew Fran didn’t take well to being tied up,” he quipped, turning to me to slip my shackles off. “I just never knew how much.”

When my hands were free a slow smile spread on my face. Balthier turned to Ashe. I turned to Vaan and Penelo.

“Kid.”

“Yeah?” Vaan looked over to me and when he saw my smile he matched it with one of his own. “Get me out of these cuffs and I’ll give you what I found in that chest.”

My smile widened to a blood thirsty grin. “Add in that blood sword, if you wouldn’t mind,” I said darkly as I fiddled with his shackles. “I have a _point_ to make.”

The shackles clattered to the ground and I turned to free Penelo while Vaan pulled my prizes from his inventory. When I turned back to Vaan, he held an absolutely beautiful curved silver dagger with a black sheathe and an amethyst glittering in the pommel. I glanced down to the silver and amethyst y-drop necklace I had taken from the Dalmascan palace and smiled at Vaan.

_“Perfect.”_

_‘Lethe,’_ my mind whispered the dagger’s new name and I felt my smile grow slightly. It was the perfect name.

I handed him my first dagger and replaced it with the new one, then took the blood sword he offered me and turned to face the target at the top of my list.

Captain Vossler Azelas.

He was standing between us and freedom with his greatsword drawn.

“Sky pirates! The future of Dalmasca will not be stolen!”

Basch stepped forward, shoulders squared and ready to fight. I stood silently in the background, using the time to analyze Vossler’s form and note his weaknesses as he tried to reason with Basch.

_‘His anger at Ashe and Basch and the pirates will cloud his judgement.’_

_‘There’s a chance he’ll write me off because of how unresponsive I was after Ghis threatened Balthier.’_

_‘Never again. I will never again be that useless.’_

I stepped past Basch.

“Handle the Imperials. I have a score to settle.”

I didn’t wait for Basch’s reply but kept steadily advancing on Vossler, the blood sword dangling comfortably in my main hand. Balthier was occupied trying to help Fran, so he couldn’t stop me.

“You made a fatal error, _Captain_ Azelas,” I said in a frigid voice.

“If that error was allowing you to live, I shall be sure to remedy that here and now!” Vossler shot back at me. A cold smile formed on my face as I came to a stop—one to match the frost in my voice.

“No. You betrayed your queen, you betrayed your comrade, you put my siblings in danger, and you made an enemy of me for my reluctance to blindly follow Ashe. All of these things were mistakes,” I told him, pointing my sword at each person affected by his decisions. Finally the tip of my sword pointed squarely at him. “But your fatal error—the reason I’m going to kill you is for what happened on the _Leviathan.”_

“What happe—you mean handing the Dawn Shard over?” Vossler sounded incredulous. “You wanted it for yourself, didn’t you!”

I shifted my stance to ready an attack. “It was _your_ decision, _your treachery,_ that nearly got Balthier _killed!”_ I shouted at him. “It is _your fault_ that I almost lost my Sparrow!”

I darted forward, twisting out of the way of Vossler’s blade.

_‘When you have the shorter blade, get in close.’_

_‘Thanks, Castellan. Hero of Olympus for sure.’_

My sword swung to the side, sparking along Vossler’s larger blade as I strained against his superior strength.

“You seem assured of your victory,” Vossler sneered at me. “You will fail. I will send you to the afterlife to face the gods’ wrath for your deeds!”

“This is hell’s territory,” I spat back at him, shoving his blade away and spinning to slam my blade down on him. He lifted his greatsword to block my blow and I met his eyes. “I am beholden to no gods.”

We continued on like that for a while, blocking and side-stepping each other’s attacks. I refused to rely on my magic for this fight.

“Do you recognize the blade, Azelas?” I asked him, slipping under his guard. He managed to block my strike again. “Sharp enough to split a hair. _”_

“The blade your _brother_ pilfered from Raithwall’s tomb.”

 _“Sharp enough to kill a man, Captain Azelas.”_ I hissed at him. _“Let me prove it to you.”_

While he was focused on the blood sword my off-hand flashed forward and my new dagger sliced through the belt holding his breastplate in place. Surprise flashed through his eyes as the metal clattered to the floor of the hangar.

“Another relic from the tomb?” Vossler sneered, driving me backwards. I let him think he had me on the run as I blocked or dodged his erratic swings and sheathed my dagger. After one particularly wild swing, I dodged forward under his blade. There was a sickening squelch as the sword sank through his chest and I wrapped my hand around his shoulder to keep him from falling to the floor.

“Save a seat for Judge Ghis. If all goes to plan I’ll be sending him right after you,” I whispered in his ear. I heard the greatsword clatter to the ground behind me and I let go of the handle of the blood sword to grip his other shoulder and lower him gently to the floor. Breath rattled through his chest as I knelt next to him and he met my gaze.

“I’m sorry it came to this, Vossler.”

“Murderess…”

His gaze left me as a set of footsteps came to a stop behind my left shoulder.

“All I have done—” he coughed and blood splattered on his lips. “I’ve ever thought of Dalmasca first.”

“I know you do,” Basch said from my side. “I would ne’er gainsay your loyalty.”

“Look on what my haste has wrought… Did I act too quick? Or was your return… too late?” Vossler gasped for breath. “I can serve her no more. You must take up my charge.”

His muscles went slack and my fingers pressed against the vein in his neck to check his pulse before I slid his eyes closed. A hand appeared in my peripheral vision offering a single gil and I placed it over Vossler’s lips before looking up to see Vaan standing next to me.

“I thought I told you not to watch, Kid.”

“You shouldn’t have to see all of this alone,” he whispered, pulling me to my feet. I reached out and pulled the blood sword free of Vossler’s body.

“Let’s get out of here,” I muttered, breaking into a run to the nearest ship with Vaan and Basch on my heels. The tugging in my soul was only getting worse and I could tell Fran wasn’t getting any better. Balthier was having to support her. “The Mist is telling me to leave. Now.”

I flicked the blood sword to the side as I ran, flinging Vossler’s blood off of it. Once we boarded the ship and Balthier got us in the air I handed the sword to Vaan.

“You still don’t want it?” He asked me. I shrugged, going to stand next to Basch at the window to stare at the _Leviathan._

“Need a sheath for it. I don’t have an inventory like you guys do since I’m not part of this universe.”

“Have you tried to use one?” Basch asked me. I paused, blinking rapidly.

_‘No, we haven’t…’_

_‘Why would we have?’_

“I—” My hands came up to clutch my head as the tugging sensation spiked, morphing into something much more painful. _“Sparrow, get us out of here,”_ I cried.

 _Leviathan_ exploded. The entire fleet, save for the ship we were escaping on, was set off in a chain reaction thanks to the shockwave from the blast. We were just barely ahead of the shockwave.

“This could get a little dicey!” Balthier called as the ship was jostled with the turbulence. I lost my balance and fell sideways, only for Basch to pull me toward him. He steadied me enough to pull me away from the window and over to Balthier. I felt like I was enduring every migraine I had ever had back home all at once.

“The Mist,” Fran said, panting for breath. “It manifests now.”

“Is that what you call this?” Vaan cried.

“It needs to fucking stop,” I groaned leaning heavily on the back of Balthier’s chair. “Before my head explodes.”

The turbulence died down and I took a gasping breath as the pain subsided back into the gentle tugging sensation. 

“What’s that?” Penelo asked. I didn’t have the energy to look at what she was talking about, only to keep my head resting on the back of Balthier’s chair while I caught my breath.

“I think… It’s the Dawn Shard!” Ashe exclaimed.

“Then what are we waiting for?” Balthier asked. My hand tightened into a fist and I realized that at some point I had tangled my fingers in his sleeve. Since he hadn’t said anything about it I didn’t let go until he landed the ship.

While the others went to retrieve the Dawn Shard again, I stayed curled up on the floor, facing a corner. Fran was still a little weak, but she went with the princess which meant that Balthier did too. I kept up pretenses of being alright just long enough to shoo Vaan and Penelo out of the ship after them. Once the door closed behind them I felt my shoulders sag and I deflated. I sniffed out an out of the way corner and curled up.

Fran might have been weak from her frenzy, but I was emotionally exhausted from _everything_ that had happened from the minute our feet touched the sand on our way out of the tomb. Realizing exactly how attached I was getting to Balthier was one thing. That could be ignored in normal circumstances; I didn’t belong in this world, so I had no right to fall for someone here. Balthier belonged with Fran—or, hell, maybe even Ashe. Not with me.

Realizing that I liked him, only to immediately have his life threatened right in front of me, however…

And then there was my _reaction_ to Ghis holding Balthier at sword point.

Every time I thought about it, every time I remembered how I _froze,_ it was that much harder to keep the Hell Loop of thoughts contained. Killing Vossler had… only added to my guilt, if I was being honest. Did I blame him for Balthier being threatened? Absolutely. Did I want to kill him for it? _Hell_ yes. Did I enjoy it? ...In the moment. But…

Did he deserve it?

No.

No one deserved to be murdered. Especially not someone who thought he was doing what was right for his kingdom.

_‘Seems like the only thing you’re not useless for is murdering people who don’t deserve it.’_

_‘Oh, fantastic. The Hell Loop is coming back.’_

I curled up tighter and squeezed my eyes shut, hoping I could go to sleep and avoid reality for a couple hours. Unfortunately sleep was out of reach and the Hell Loop came back, full force, shortly before the others returned. When I heard the door of the ship open I forced my breathing to regulate, hoping that they would think I was asleep and leave me alone. Their voices were muffled slightly since I had managed to find a little alcove away from the main area of the ship.

“-she go?”

“I’m not sure…”

There was silence for a second, and I could just imagine Penelo and Vaan sharing a look. I curled up tighter.

“We’ll find her,” Penelo said. “You just get us back to Rabanastre.”

“What if she left the ship?” I heard Ashe ask them.

Neither of them hesitated before chorusing, “She didn’t.”

“How do you know?” I heard Basch ask.

“Because she’s our sister. She’s not gonna just _leave.”_ Vaan said as though it should have been obvious. I didn’t hear anyone say anything else but, a few moments later, two bodies curled around me.

“Go to sleep,” Vaan said in front of me, one of his arms curling over my shoulders.

“We’ll wake you up when we get back to Rabanastre,” Penelo assured me softly, draping her arm over my waist.

Sandwiched between the two of them, something shifted in my mind and I finally managed to lock the Hell Loop away again and relax. One of them started to brush their fingers through my admittedly tangled hair and I felt myself start to drift off into a hopefully peaceful sleep.


	27. Dying is Easy, Outlier. Living is Harder.

After we returned to Rabanastre we followed Ashe and Basch to the place that the Resistance was hidden. I took one look at the people surrounding us—Vossler’s comrades—and shook my head.

“Nope. I’m gonna go get some air,” I said, stepping backwards.

“I’ll go with you,” Basch said.

“Nah, it’s fine. I can find my way back here,” I told him, plastering a smile on. “I just need some time to myself…”

He, Balthier, and Ashe all frowned, but since neither Vaan nor Penelo spoke up they let me go. As soon as the door closed behind me I slipped off through the Lowtown traffic, intent on making my way to the surface city to wander through the streets in no particular direction.

Thirty minutes later I was, for no specific reason, approaching the Rabanastre cathedral. A small smirk curled my lips when I saw familiar olive green and gold armor. He was staring up at the facade with his back to me. I flicked my fingers as I approached, ruffling his perfect hair with a playful breeze.

“Your Highness,” I greeted with a hint of humor in my voice.

“The thief returns.” He spoke without looking at me. I sighed.

“I took a walk to clear my head and just kinda… wound up here,” I said truthfully. This drew his interest, it seemed, because he glanced over at me finally.

“Oh? Clear your head of what, may I ask?”

I smiled back at him, honestly glad that I had run into him.

“Existential crises.” There was no reaction in his expression, but I continued anyway. “I don’t believe that I belong here, Vayne. Which has given me certain… rather distressing tendencies.”

“Such as brazenly telling the Imperial Consul that you’re a thief?” Vayne asked. I thought I just barely caught a joking tone. Regardless of if I had imagined the humor or not, it pulled a laugh from me.

“A bit more distressing than that, Vayne.” I paused, staring up at the arches and pillars of the cathedral. “I seem to have developed a martyr complex.”

His primary response was an interested hum. “Really? How interesting.”

“Much to the dismay of my traveling companions. One of them said something, though, that started me thinking,” I sighed. “I was hoping to get _your_ input on it, actually…”

He finally acknowledged me physically by turning to me with an interested face. _“Mine?_ And what is it that troubles you so much that you would seek out the man who sent you and your… _friends_ to a dungeon?”

“Well, just to set things straight,” I said, smirking over at him, “that was your _job._ I don’t hold that one against you. Plus I know a little bit more about you than the others—remember, I saw Spiritus’ world.” I waved a hand dismissively in the air. “Putting all that aside, though. One of my friends said that… if I didn’t belong here, I wouldn’t _be_ here. Which… really gave me pause. I know Abby is on Eos because she’s tied to Noctis’ destiny, but… I don’t know. I just don’t feel like I’m here for something like that. I don’t feel…”

I cut myself off with a frustrated sigh and stepped over to the rail of the bridge leading to the cathedral so I could lean against it. Vayne trailed behind me after a moment and I looked over at him.

“I don’t know, I just don’t feel like I was brought _here_ under the same conditions that Abby was taken to Eos…” I finished softly.

“Hmm.” Vayne thought over my words very carefully. “So… You feel destitute that you lack purpose in this world. But what is it that tells you have no purpose? A lack of guidance? Or are you simply comparing yourself to another even though she has little control over her circumstances…?”

I pursed my lips and thought it over. “Mmmmm probably a little of column A, a little of column B, if I’m being honest,” I finally muttered, running my hands through my hair. “It’s not like… it’s not like I want _orders._ I just want to know that me being here wasn’t some fucking cosmic mistake. Like I turned left at Albuquerque and ended up in Ivalice for no reason other than my own shitty luck.”

Vayne nodded in understanding. “Tell me, then, where would you rather be: back where you came from where nothing has changed? Or here where you are free to build your life as you please, and where the past is now fully behind you?”

My fingers stilled where they had been playing with the ends of my hair and I tilted my head to the side.

_‘Oh.’_

For the second time that day it felt like time stopped. Only this time, it wasn’t because I thought I was about to lose someone.

“Emotional Support Consul indeed,” I murmured quietly.

Vayne sighed quietly. “Do remind me to ask what that means once we’ve finished this conversation.”

I felt myself grin. “I probably won’t,” I told him, my voice shaking with repressed laughter. “You make a _very_ fair point, Vayne. I miss home, and I always will, but you’re right. Back home, much like Abby’s answer for you when you asked her why she fought, there wasn’t all that much for me. My friends, my family, my _cats,_ sure, but that was the extent of it. I wasn’t in a position to travel, really, _especially_ when I left, but here there’s adventure and magic and fun.”

“If you were able to put the past aside, where would you choose to stay? Your home world or Ivalice? Or somewhere else entirely, if it were possible to go there?”

My mind flashed through a few different images; the lake I grew up near, Bhujerba, what I imagined the Twelveswood on Eorzea might look like in person, Altissia, and finally the skies outside the _Strahl_ on our way to Bhujerba. I took a slow breath.

“I think… I think I would choose to stay here…” I whispered.

I heard Vayne’s armor move as he shifted. “And there is the answer. _Make_ something with your life rather end it. ...Though I pray you choose to do something more with it than _thievery.”_

I threw my head back with a bright laugh. “No promises, Vayne, but thank you for putting things to perspective. We’ll see where I end up with this new mindset you’ve managed to give me.” 

“I am always happy to offer my counsel, even to a thief if she’s earned it. ...If that is truly what you are.”

He eyed me skeptically but didn’t comment further.

I shrugged one shoulder, still leaning on the rail. “To people who deserve it, I am. Bullies, other criminals—” My eyes cut to the side with a mischievous grin. “—Imperial soldiers.” He narrowed his eyes slightly and my grin widened. “Don’t worry, Vayne. You’re safe from my sticky fingers. …For the moment.”

“Hmm.” His expression was ever unreadable as he spoke. “Then I suggest you find elsewhere to ponder your new life before I have you arrested again.”

My grin fell back to a smirk and I looked back to the cathedral. “I’ll see what I can do about that. On to other subjects, though, what brought you out this way, Vayne? Surely the consul has better things to do,” I said curiously.

“I think you know as well as I do what happened to the eighth fleet in my command.” His tone was criticizing. “I’ve been called back to Archades, so I thought perhaps one last visit here would be favorable before I depart.”

I hummed softly. “That sucks. Any idea what’s gonna happen? I mean… It ain’t _your_ fault it blew up. In fact I’m like… eighty-five percent sure it was Ghis’. He seemed pretty…” I cleared my throat awkwardly, _“attracted_ to the idea of having the Dawn Shard. I wouldn’t put it past him to have done something with it that got himself and the fleet blown up.”

His neutral expression became one of _slight_ interest. “So you _were_ able to retrieve it.”

 _‘Tread carefully,’_ my mind whispered. I hummed in response to both Vayne and my inner voice.

“From the tomb, yes,” I admitted. “I haven’t seen it since Ghis took it off Ashe’s hands, though.”

 _Not_ a lie; I hadn’t seen it when Penelo and Ashe had spotted it after the explosion, and by the time I woke up Ashe had already put it into the inventory.

Still, Vayne didn’t look like he _quite_ believed me. “I see.”

His tone took an edge.

“Then Judge Ghis exhausted its power prematurely.” His eyes shifted to elsewhere in the cathedral. “That will be difficult to explain. To answer your earlier question, I expect the Imperial Senate will use this opportunity to finally be rid of me. Which, of course, I cannot allow, but even so…”

He became quiet as he pondered all the ways they could ‘be rid of him’. I narrowed my eyes dangerously.

“Well that’s a cheery thought,” I muttered. “Let’s hope for… _everyone’s_ sake that they fail. I’d hate to have to go to Archades and… take care of them… for making Abby upset.”

Vayne shortly chuckled at my first thought. Then he turned to me again as I finished talking.

“You believe she’ll be upset…?” he asked, as if he couldn’t understand why _that_ was my first thought.

“I do,” I said with a slight laugh. “I can’t tell you _why_ I believe it, but I think I know her fairly well. She wouldn’t be happy.”

“Hmm.” It was a confused hum. “I see… I suppose, then, that it is good I plan to ensure that they _do_ fail in their efforts.”

“Speaking of Senates, though,” I said, thinking back to America’s government. “Are yours insufferable too? Or was it just mine and Abby’s? Because like, yeah they might try to get rid of you and yeah, that’s pretty insufferable, but I mean normally. On a scale of one to You-should-all-be-fired, how bad?”

Vayne chuckled again. “Seeing as my father has little control over them now, I would say we ought to be rid of them as well as myself, if it comes to that.”

“So they’re right around ‘Dear-gods-how-has-nobody-assassinated-you’, then,” I determined, grinning over at him. “Good to know.”

His quiet laughter was evident in his voice. “Precisely.”

I had to admit, I was secretly pretty proud at all the chuckles I had managed to pull out of the elder Solidor. I was more glad that I had seemed to get his mind off his troubles for a moment, even if it was by joking about it. My head tilted back to look at the sky.

“As fun as this has been,” I said slowly, “and how much I think we _both_ needed this chat… I should probably be getting back to my brother and sister before they start to worry.”

“Of course. As I said, I am always happy to offer counsel when it is needed.”

I turned toward him with a small grin. “Give Larsa my love when you get home, yeah? And tell him I miss him?”

He sighed in revelation and the slight surprise lighting Vayne’s eyes made my grin widen a hair. “Of course the ‘intriguing friends’ he made in Bhujerba would include _you.”_

I let out a shocked laugh, both that Larsa had mentioned us to Vayne and that he had described us as “intriguing.”

“We were in Bhujerba around the same time, and I apparently have an uncanny ability to bump into a Solidor when I’m in the same city as one,” I told Vayne through my laughter.

“Let us hope that ability does not become detrimental,” Vayne warned. “As pleasant as our conversations can be, you have still aligned yourself with Lady Ashe. Should things continue to escalate, I will be able to ignore it no longer.”

“Hey, I am an _innocent bystander_ in all this,” I told him with, miraculously, a straight face. “I’m just tagging along to make sure my reckless brother doesn’t get himself killed or get our sister into trouble.”

He hummed. “Be that as it may, I’ve given you my warning, and now I’m afraid I must leave you.”

I lifted one hand to my temple to give him a two-fingered salute. “Good luck with the Senate, Vayne. And… I guess have fun?”

His laugh was a short huff. “I’m afraid ‘fun’ has very little to do with it, but it shall be considered. I hope you have a pleasant evening.”

I turned with a grin and walked away. Just before I disappeared into the crowd I thought of a nickname for him. I stopped short and looked back over my shoulder.

“Right back at ya, Vanity Fair.”

I slipped into the crowd and disappeared before he could comment.

As I made my way through the city with no particular destination yet I took extra care to blend into the crowd around me, even going so far as to slip my jacket off and carry it. I knew better than most how clever Vayne was, and I would be a fool to think he didn’t take _my_ return to the city as proof that _Ashe_ had returned as well, so I took extra precautions just in case he decided to have someone follow me.

I paid extra attention to the crowds around me, keeping an eye on the people around me. A couple different times I thought I saw a pair of Imperial soldiers trailing after me, but it was hard to tell since the soldiers generally all wore helmets. Then I spotted someone. A man who I had _definitely_ seen a few streets beforehand. He wasn’t particularly outstanding, really, but he was wearing some sort of toga-like shirt that was a gorgeous shade of purple. I turned and talked to one of the nearby vendors, chatting about what types of fruits he had in stock. Out of the corner of my eye I watched as the man loitered casually just past a cart down the road. I smiled, bought an orange from the vendor I had been chatting with and an apple for Vaan, then continued down the road.

The next cart I stopped at was a flower cart. The vendor was this sweet, brunette girl with a kind smile.

“These flowers are from a territory in Archadia,” she told me, gesturing to a group of what looked like light purple lily of the valley. I smiled and reached out to lightly brush my fingers against them. She also had some flowers that looked like asphodels, some white poppies, and a few different colors of roses.

I looked up, still smiling, and noticed that the man with the toga shirt was—again—casually loitering near a cart a few spaces down from the flower vendor.

_‘Well, now. Isn’t that interesting…’_

I turned my attention back to the girl in front of me.

“Can I get… one of these, these, these, and also two of those, please?” I asked, pointing to the lily of the valley, asphodel, yellow rose, and white poppies in that order. Her smile brightened considerably as she nodded.

“Of course! Would you like them in an arrangement or a bouquet?”

“Neither,” I told her, my smile still relaxed and friendly, even though I was now sure that I was being followed. “They’re going individually to separate people, so there’s no need to go to any extra trouble.” My eyes caught on a fifth flower tucked away in the back corner of her cart and I sucked in a breath.

_‘Home…’_

“And that one,” I added quickly, pointing out the familiar pinkish-purple blossom that my grandpa planted in front of our house when I was a kid. “If it’s not too much trouble.”

“Hmm?” The flower vendor looked over to see which flower I was pointing at. “Oh, the Magic Lily? Sure!”

_‘Hmm. Even the same name.’_

My smile grew. “Thank you.”

Once I paid her and she handed me the flowers, I tipped my head and made my way back down the street toward Toga-shirt, retracing my steps. I lifted the Magic Lily to my nose, letting the nostalgia wash over me before replacing it with one of the poppies.

_‘Too bad we can’t keep the flowers safe in an inventory while we lose our tail…’_

It was right about then that I _completely by accident_ bumped into Toga-shirt. With a murmured apology, I stepped around him and kept moving.

_“Have you tried to use one?”_

I hummed and narrowed my eyes as I remembered Basch’s question from before the eighth fleet exploded.

_‘How would we even go about it, though?’_

I drifted through the streets, leading the man following me in circles that came nowhere near the entrance to lowtown that I would need to use to rejoin the others. As I led, I debated how to go about accessing an inventory that I might or might not have.

_‘Could be like that Epic NPC Man skit…’_

_‘Horse pocket?’_

_‘Horse pocket.’_

_‘Interesting theory… I doubt it’s that simple, but it’s a place to start at least.’_

I shifted my flowers into one hand and pulled my orange from my jacket pocket, examining it thoughtfully. I hadn’t ever really put things in my pocket with specific intent before, so of course the only thing that would logically happen is the same thing that’s happened my whole life: The Thing goes in my pocket and stays there.

“Horse pocket, huh?” I murmured, easily slipping through the tighter spots of the crowd and leaving my tail to have to either make his way around or push his way through. After sliding through a couple more tight spots I ducked quickly behind one of the vendor carts and crouched down in the dead end alleyway. “Well, here goes nothing…”

I took an apprehensive breath, then put the orange back in my pocket with the _specific intent_ of it disappearing into an inventory. Into _my_ inventory.

I took a sharp, startled breath when the orange dematerialized in my hand. One moment it was there, and then next my hand was completely empty—like the orange had just… blinked out of existence.

_‘Oh my god, we’ve gotta thank Cap when we make it back.’_

I looked at the flowers in my other hand.

_‘Those won’t fit in my pocket, though…’_

On a whim I moved as though to tuck them into an inner pocket in my jacket with the same intent as before. They blinked out of existence as well. I grinned happily and grabbed Vaan’s apple to slip it into my inventory with the rest of my items. Then I pulled my Last Hair Tie from home off my wrist and wrangled my hair into a bun before slipping my jacket back on. Hopefully, since the last my tail had seen of me I was carrying a bundle of flowers, carrying a jacket, and had my hair down, he wouldn’t immediately recognize me.

If he did? Well—I wasn’t carrying anything delicate anymore and I was quick on my feet. I’d lose him the old-fashioned way. I rose from my crouch and turned to slip back out into the street. I casually scanned the crowd, not seeing Toga-shirt anywhere nearby. I smirked and turned to double back the way I came from, keeping an eye out for any more potential uninvited guests courtesy of my favorite Consul. Once I was sure Toga-shirt was gone, I slipped back into my jacket and began to wander towards the section of the city with the entrance to Lowtown that I needed.

Five or ten minutes later my eyes narrowed when I caught sight of another man I had seen more than once. It wasn’t Toga-shirt, but I was _sure_ I had seen him on the last street I had been on as well. His black hair and trimmed beard stood out in my mind for some reason, along with the light armor pauldrons on his shoulders. This time I wasn’t even going to test it. I started slipping through the tightest parts of the crowd. Then, once I was sure I had put some distance between us, I broke into a flat out sprint in a random direction that wasn’t directly toward my destination.

I wove through the streets, taking various turns before bursting out into a crowded market street. Immediately, I slipped my jacket off again and let my hair down from the bun I had it in as I slipped seamlessly into the flow of the foot-traffic. After another twenty or so minutes of wandering without seeing anything suspicious, or seeing either of my previous tails, I made my way back to the Rebellion hideout.

I slipped through the door and turned to shut it, leaving my back to the room while I put my jacket on again. I wasn’t sure if there was a tense silence, or if my guilt over killing Vossler was coming back, but I took a slow breath and let it out quietly through my mouth before I turned back around. There were only a couple of Vossler’s comrades in the room, but my friends perked up a little when they saw me.

“You’re back!” Vaan cried. “Why were you gone so long?”

I gave a one-shouldered shrug, smirking as I thought about my adventure. “I was just out walking.”

“We thought maybe you ran into trouble with the Imperials or something so—” Penelo was cut off by the door opening and I turned to see a very familiar head of black hair with a neatly-trimmed beard.

_‘Shit! I thought I lost him!’_

I lifted my hand and immediately five water tridents materialized in the air around the man who had followed me, spinning lazily as they pointed at him.

“I’m sorry, Captain, I lost—” his sentence cut off when he looked up to find me standing in the room with a hand lifted and an attack leveled at him.

“What are you doing?!” Penelo asked, coming to my side to pull my hand back down. “He’s part of the Resistance!”

“...Oh,” I said sheepishly, lifting the hand Penelo hadn’t grabbed to scratch the back of my head as I let the tridents burst apart and fade away. “Sorry…”

“Your brother and the captain asked me to _find you,”_ the man told me, crossing his arms. I turned to raise an eyebrow at Vaan.

“Is that so…”

“You were gone for over an hour!” Vaan retorted.

“So you sent someone to _follow me?”_ I asked incredulously. “Your _thief_ sister? And you didn’t _once_ think ‘Hey, maybe she might freak out if she notices this man she _doesn’t know,_ _following_ her?’”

“I’m more interested in knowing _how_ you spotted me, and how you managed to lose me,” the man said, bringing my attention back to him. I smirked.

“I rolled a nat-twenty on my perception check,” I informed him. “As for how I lost you, well… My Sneak stat is maxed and you’re gonna have to get on my level.”

I turned away from him to walk over to Basch and slipped my hand into the inside of my jacket.

_‘Just like a horse pocket…’_

When I pulled my hand free there was a white poppy flower grasped between my fingers and I smiled up at Basch triumphantly. “For you, Cap. Both as thanks and as an apology…”

“For what?” He asked, confusion lacing his voice as he took the flower. I glanced up with a lopsided smile.

“For asking if I had ever tried to use my inventory. Without that question I would have just continued to assume I didn’t have one.”

“So then you figured it out?” I nodded happily and he smiled. “Very good. And as an apology?” He prompted carefully. I looked at the floor and slipped my hands into my pockets.

“Well, I only know the meaning of a few flowers in the flower language… White poppies symbolize consolation, so I wanted to give it to you as an apology for… For Vossler…” I whispered.

There was a moment of silence, then Basch sighed. “It is a thoughtful gift… You have my thanks.” I nodded and turned to Fran, slipping my hand into my jacket to pull out the yellow rose.

“This one symbolizes friendship,” I told the viera, handing over the flower. “I thought it was appropriate, since you’re the one who reminded me that friendship goes both ways…”

She looked slightly surprised that I had thought of her, but I saw a small upward tilt to her lips as she nodded. “Thank you.”

Ashe was next, and I pulled the asphodel from my inventory to offer it to her. “This one is called asphodel,” I explained quietly. “It’s one of my favorites, if only because it was said to grow in the fields of Hades’ realm. Its meaning is a little more complex than ‘consolation’ or ‘friendship’; it means ‘remembered beyond the tomb,’ or ‘my regrets follow you to the grave’. It… made me think of you, since you’ve lost your father and your husband…”

Ashe looked bewildered that I had brought her anything, and I smirked slightly. “And don’t worry, I did pay for these.”

The princess huffed and took the flower with a scowl. “I should hope so.”

I snickered and walked back to Penelo to sling my arm around her shoulder, pulling the lily of the valley from my inventory to hold it in front of us.

“Lily of the valley, symbolizing sweetness and humility.”

She ducked her head and I caught a light blush on her cheeks. I chuckled and kissed the top of her head before letting go and turning to Vaan. Without missing a beat, I pulled the apple out of my inventory and tossed it at him.

“Think fast, Kid.”

He yelped and caught it, then scowled at me. “Everyone else gets flowers with nice meanings, and I get an _apple?”_

I slipped into a Jamaican accent. “If you don’ _want it,_ give it _back.”_

His eyes narrowed and he pulled it closer to him. “No, I’m hungry.”

I laughed and turned away, letting my accent go back to normal. “That’s why I brought you an apple.”

“Hmph.”

I rolled my eyes and shot Balthier a hesitant smile. “I uh… don’t really know what this one means,” I said slowly, pulling the magic lily out of my inventory and holding it out toward him. “But they grew outside my house when I was little. I always liked them—aside from lavender, they’re probably my favorite flower… They’re called—”

“Magic lilies,” Balthier said, carefully taking the flower from me with an unreadable expression. “Thank you, Songbird.”

“Of course… _mein Spatz,”_ I murmured with a smile. He almost looked… sad? Wistful?

_‘That’s the same look Mom gets when she starts thinking about Grandma…’_

_‘Hmm… maybe magic lilies remind him of one of his parents or grandparents, kinda like they remind me of Grampa…’_

I turned back to the resistance member who had followed me. “I had a second white poppy, but I… _misplaced it_ on the other guy y’all sent to tail me.”

A few looks were exchanged between the man, Basch, and Vaan, then he shook his head. “I was the only one following you.”

My eyes narrowed for a moment, then I started to giggle. Before long I was doubled over with laughter. If they had only sent one person for me, then that meant that Toga-shirt had been one of Vayne’s men. Which meant what I had wanted to happen when I had planted the poppy on Toga-shirt was probably going to happen. He was going to have to go back and report to Vayne that he lost me, but had found that flower. Now all I could picture was Vayne staring out the window of his airship on his way back to Archades, holding a little white flower and being quietly amused with our little cat-and-mouse game.

“Oh, that’s great,” I whispered as I straightened back up, rubbing a hand over my face. “Well, wherever it is, I’m sure it’s in capable hands.”

“Regardless,” Basch said, stepping forward. “While we are staying with the Resistance…”

I tilted my head curiously.

“Would you like proper instruction in swordplay?”

I felt myself perk up immediately and I nodded eagerly. _“Yes, please.”_

Basch chuckled softly. “Very well, we shall begin tomorrow.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Credit for all of Vayne's dialogue in the beginning of this chapter goes to Green. She's fucking phenomenal and I love her to pieces and if I didn't have her around Vayne's dialogue wouldn't be half as good as it is ^-^  
> Also: mein Spatz is German for "my sparrow." :D


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